LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) coded modulation hybrid decoding using non-Gray code maps for improved performance

ABSTRACT

LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) coded modulation hybrid decoding using non-Gray code maps for improved performance. Check node updating and symbol node updating are successively and alternatively performed on bit edge messages for a predetermined number of decoding iterations or until sufficient degree of precision is achieved. The symbol node updating of the bit edge messages uses symbol metrics corresponding to the symbol being decoded and the bit edge messages most recently updated by check node updating. The check node updating of the bit edge messages uses the bit edge messages most recently updated by symbol node updating. The symbol node updating computes possible soft symbol estimates. LDPC coded modulation hybrid decoding can decode an LDPC-BICM (Low Density Parity Check-Bit Interleaved Coded Modulation) signal having a symbol mapped using non-Gray code mapping. By using the non-Gray code mapping, a performance improvement is achieved over an only Gray code mapping system.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENTS/PATENT APPLICATIONS

[0001] The present U.S. Utility Patent Application claims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to the following U.S. Provisional Patent Applications which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety and made part of the present U.S. Utility Patent Application for all purposes:

[0002] 1. U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/478,690, “Coded modulation with LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) code using variable maps and metric updating,” (Attorney Docket No. BP3036), filed Jun. 13, 2003 (06/13/2003), pending.

[0003] 2. U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/490,967, “LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) coded modulation symbol decoding,” (Attorney Docket No. BP3089), filed Jul. 29, 2003 (07/29/2003), pending.

[0004] 3. U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/519,457, “LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) coded modulation hybrid decoding,” (Attorney Docket No. BP3134), filed Nov. 12, 2003 (11/12/2003), pending.

[0005] 4. U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/548,971, “LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) coded modulation hybrid decoding using non-Gray code maps for improved performance,” (Attorney Docket No. BP3134CIP), filed Mar. 1, 2004 (03/01/2004), pending.

[0006] The present U.S. Utility Patent Application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. Utility Patent Application Ser. No. 10/723,574, entitled “LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) coded modulation hybrid decoding,” (Attorney Docket No. BP3134), filed Nov. 26, 2003 (11/26/2003), pending, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety and made part of the present U.S. Utility Patent Application for all purposes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0007] 1. Technical Field of the Invention

[0008] The invention relates generally to communication systems; and, more particularly, it relates to decoding of signals within such communication systems.

[0009] 2. Description of Related Art

[0010] Data communication systems have been under continual development for many years. One such type of communication system that has been of significant interest lately is a communication system that employs turbo codes. Another type of communication system that has also received interest is a communication system that employs LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) code. A primary directive in these areas of development has been to try continually to lower the error floor within a communication system. The ideal goal has been to try to reach Shannon's limit in a communication channel. Shannon's limit may be viewed as being the data rate to be used in a communication channel, having a particular SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio), that achieves error free transmission through the communication channel. In other words, the Shannon limit is the theoretical bound for channel capacity for a given modulation and code rate.

[0011] LDPC code has been shown to provide for excellent decoding performance that can approach the Shannon limit in some cases. For example, some LDPC decoders have been shown to come within 0.3 dB (decibels) from the theoretical Shannon limit. While this example was achieved using an irregular LDPC code of a length of one million, it nevertheless demonstrates the very promising application of LDPC codes within communication systems.

[0012] Typical encoding of LDPC coded modulation signals is performed by generating a signal that includes symbols each having a common code rate and being mapped to a singular modulation. That is to say, all of the symbols of such an LDPC coded modulation signal have the same code rate and the same modulation (the same constellation having a singular mapping). Oftentimes, such prior art encoding designs are implemented as to maximize the hardware and processing efficiencies of the particular design employed to generate the LDPC coded modulation signal having the single code rate and single modulation for all of the symbols generated therein.

[0013] With respect to decoding of such LDPC coded modulation signals, decoding is most commonly performed based on a bipartite graph of a given LDPC code such that the graph includes both bit nodes and check nodes. The I, Q (In-phase, Quadrature) values associated with received symbols are associated with a symbol node, and that symbol node is associated with corresponding bit nodes. Bit metrics are then calculated for the individual bits of the corresponding symbols, and those bit metrics are provided to the bit nodes of the bipartite graph of the given LDPC code. Edge information corresponding to the edges that interconnect the bit nodes and the check nodes is calculated, and appropriately updated, and communicated back and forth between the bit nodes and the check nodes during iterative decoding of the LDPC coded signal. Within such typical decoding systems, the bit metric values that are employed are fixed values and used repeatedly in the iterative decoding processing. As such, the performance of such prior art, bit only decoding approaches is inherently limited and may require more iterations to converge on a best estimate of information contained within an LDPC coded modulation signal.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0014] Various aspects of the invention can be found in any number of devices that perform decoding of LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) coded modulation signals in a manner that employs hybrid decoding that includes both symbol level information and bit level information during the iterative decoding processing. Moreover, the signal that is decoded using this hybrid decoding may be an LDPC-BICM (Low Density Parity Check-Bit Interleaved Coded Modulation) signal. Various symbols of this LDPC-BICM signal may be mapped according to different modulations (e.g., to different shaped constellation and/or differently mapped constellations). In some instances, the different maps that are employed include a Gray code map and also a non-Gray code map.

[0015] This hybrid decoding processing may also be performed on an LDPC coded modulation variable code rate and/or a variable modulation signal without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. In some instances, a single device (e.g., in a transceiver in some instances) is operable to perform both encoding and decoding in accordance with invention. Moreover, various aspects of the invention may be found in devices that perform decoding of LDPC coded signals that do not necessarily include combined LDPC coding and modulation encoding.

[0016] A decoder embodiment of the invention may be implemented to include a check node update functional block and a symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block. The symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block and the check node update functional block cooperatively perform iterative decoding processing of a symbol by successively and alternatively updating bit edge messages for a predetermined number of decoding iterations or until a sufficient and acceptable degree of precision is achieved. The symbol may be part of a larger group or block of symbols that compose an LDPC coded modulation signal. The bit edge messages corresponds to the edges that communicatively couple a symbol nodes to check nodes within an LDPC coded modulation bipartite graph that corresponds to an LDPC code. The symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block performs updating of the bit edge messages using symbol metrics and the bit edge messages most recently updated by the check node update functional block. These symbol metrics correspond to the symbol mentioned above. The check node update functional block performs updating of the bit edge messages using the bit edge messages most recently updated by the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block.

[0017] The symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block of the decoder may be implemented to compute a possible soft symbol estimates for the symbol during each decoding iteration. During a last iterative decoding iteration, the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block makes a best estimate for the symbol using that symbol's most recent corresponding possible soft symbol estimates, and a hard limiter makes bit estimates based on the best estimate for the symbol such that the bit estimates are hard decisions for each of the individual bits of the symbol.

[0018] Also, during a first iterative decoding iteration, a symbol metric computer provides the symbol metrics to the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block, and an LLR (log likelihood ratio) bit edge message initialization functional block provides initialized LLR bit edge messages to the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block. The updating of the bit edge messages that is performed by either one or both of the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block and the check node update functional block may be mathematically performed in the logarithmic domain using min* processing.

[0019] The decoder may provide a significant improvement of performance when compared to other prior art decoding approaches. For example, the decoder may be implemented to perform hybrid decoding of an irregular rate 2/3 8 PSK (8 Phase Shift Key) LDPC-BICM signal having a block size of 43200. When such a hybrid decoder as described herein operates at an E_(b)/N_(o) (ratio of energy per bit E_(b) to the Spectral Noise Density N_(o)) of approximately 3.4 dB (decibels), then the decoder supports a BER (Bit Error Rate) of approximately 1.75×10⁻⁷.

[0020] In some embodiments, the LDPC coded signal that is decoded using the hybrid decoding approach presented herein is an LDPC variable modulation signal that includes a first LDPC coded modulation symbol and a second LDPC coded modulation symbol. The first LDPC coded modulation symbol is modulation encoded according to a first modulation that includes a first constellation and a corresponding first mapping, and the second LDPC coded modulation symbol is modulation encoded according to a second modulation that includes a second constellation and a corresponding second mapping. In addition, in even other embodiments, the first and second modulation both include a common constellation shape, yet each of them has a different mapping. For example, the first constellation and the second constellation are both 8 PSK (8 Phase Shift Key) shaped constellations. The first modulation includes the 8 PSK shaped constellation whose constellation points are mapped according to the corresponding first mapping, and the second modulation includes the 8 PSK shaped constellation whose constellation points are mapped according to the corresponding second mapping.

[0021] The LDPC coded signal that is decoded using this hybrid decoding approach may also be an LDPC variable code rate signal that includes a first LDPC coded symbol and a second LDPC coded symbol. In such instances, the first LDPC coded symbol is LDPC encoded according to a first code rate, and the second LDPC coded symbol is LDPC encoded according to a second code rate.

[0022] Such a decoder built according to the invention may be implemented within a variety of types of communication devices that may be implemented within any number of types of communication systems. Some examples of such communication systems includes any one of a satellite communication system, an HDTV (High Definition Television) communication system, a cellular communication system, a microwave communication system, a point-to-point communication system, a uni-directional communication system, a bi-directional communication system, a one to many communication system, a fiber-optic communication system, a WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) communication system, and a DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) communication system. Moreover, various types of methods may be performed to support the functionality described herein without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as well.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023]FIG. 1 is a system diagram illustrating an embodiment of a satellite communication system that is built according to the invention.

[0024]FIG. 2 is a system diagram illustrating an embodiment of an HDTV (High Definition Television) communication system that is built according to the invention.

[0025]FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B are system diagrams illustrating embodiment of uni-directional cellular communication systems that are built according to the invention.

[0026]FIG. 4 is a system diagram illustrating an embodiment of a bi-directional cellular communication system that is built according to the invention.

[0027]FIG. 5 is a system diagram illustrating an embodiment of a uni-directional microwave communication system that is built according to the invention.

[0028]FIG. 6 is a system diagram illustrating an embodiment of a bi-directional microwave communication system that is built according to the invention.

[0029]FIG. 7 is a system diagram illustrating an embodiment of a uni-directional point-to-point radio communication system that is built according to the invention.

[0030]FIG. 8 is a system diagram illustrating an embodiment of a bi-directional point-to-point radio communication system that is built according to the invention.

[0031]FIG. 9 is a system diagram illustrating an embodiment of a uni-directional communication system that is built according to the invention.

[0032]FIG. 10 is a system diagram illustrating an embodiment of a bi-directional communication system that is built according to the invention.

[0033]FIG. 11 is a system diagram illustrating an embodiment of a one to many communication system that is built according to the invention.

[0034]FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) that may be implemented according to the invention.

[0035]FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) communication system that may be implemented according to the invention.

[0036]FIG. 14 is a system diagram illustrating an embodiment of a fiber-optic communication system that is built according to the invention.

[0037]FIG. 15 is a system diagram illustrating an embodiment of a satellite receiver STB (Set Top Box) system that is built according to the invention.

[0038]FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) code bipartite graph.

[0039] FIG.1 7A is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of direct combining of LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) coding and modulation encoding.

[0040]FIG. 17B is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of BICM (Bit Interleaved Coded Modulation) that is employed in conjunction with LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) coding and modulation encoding.

[0041]FIG. 17C is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of multilevel coded modulation encoding.

[0042]FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a variable signal mapping LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) coded modulation system that is built in accordance with invention.

[0043]FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) coded modulation decoding functionality using bit metric according to the invention.

[0044]FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an alternative embodiment of LDPC coded modulation decoding functionality using bit metric according to the invention (when performing n number of iterations).

[0045]FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating an alternative embodiment of LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) coded modulation decoding functionality using bit metric (with bit metric updating) according to the invention.

[0046]FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating an alternative embodiment of LDPC coded modulation decoding functionality using bit metric (with bit metric updating) according to the invention (when performing n number of iterations).

[0047]FIG. 23A is a diagram illustrating bit decoding using bit metric (shown with respect to an LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) code bipartite graph) according to the invention.

[0048]FIG. 23B is a diagram illustrating bit decoding using bit metric updating (shown with respect to an LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) code bipartite graph) according to the invention.

[0049]FIG. 24A is a diagram illustrating an LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) coded modulation tripartite graph with symbol nodes connected to bit nodes according to the invention.

[0050]FIG. 24B is a diagram illustrating an LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) coded modulation bipartite graph (or symbol bipartite graph) with symbol nodes connected directly to check nodes according to the invention (this bipartite graph is generated from the tripartite graph shown in FIG. 24A).

[0051]FIG. 25A is a diagram illustrating symbol decoding (shown with respect to an LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) coded modulation bipartite graph) according to the invention.

[0052]FIG. 25B is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of symbol decoding functionality (supported with an LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) coded modulation bipartite graph) according to the invention.

[0053]FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of hybrid decoding functionality (having a reduced complexity when compared to symbol decoding) of LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) coded modulation signals according to the invention.

[0054]FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating another embodiment of hybrid decoding functionality (having a reduced complexity when compared to symbol decoding) of LDPC coded modulation signals according to the invention.

[0055]FIG. 28 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a method for hybrid decoding of LDPC coded modulation signals according to the invention.

[0056]FIG. 29 is a flowchart illustrating an alternative embodiment of a method for hybrid decoding of LDPC coded modulation signals according to the invention.

[0057]FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of update bit message functionality within symbol node update (used within hybrid decoding functionality of LDPC coded modulation signals) according to the invention.

[0058]FIG. 31 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of combined binary vector generation according to the invention.

[0059]FIG. 32 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of expanded binary vector generation according to the invention.

[0060]FIG. 33 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a method for updating edge messages (within symbol node updating) according to the invention.

[0061]FIG. 34 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a method for calculating soft estimates of symbols (within symbol node updating) according to the invention.

[0062]FIG. 35 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of projection of a symbol onto a label binary vector according to the invention.

[0063]FIG. 36 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of performance comparison of decoding of LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) coded modulation signals using bit decoding (with update metric), symbol decoding, bit decoding only, and hybrid decoding according to the invention.

[0064]FIG. 37A is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an interleaver and S/P (Serial to Parallel) transformer as performed within an LDPC-BICM (Low Density Parity Check-Bit Interleaved Coded Modulation) system according to the invention.

[0065]FIG. 37B is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a Gray code map (G-map I) (shown using an 8 PSK (Phase Shift Key) shaped constellation) according to the invention.

[0066]FIG. 38A is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an LDPC-BICM communication system I that performs encoding of an LDPC-BICM signal using a single Gray code map (G-map I) and performs decoding of the LDPC-BICM signal using bit metric only.

[0067]FIG. 38B is a diagram illustrating another embodiment of a Gray code map (G-map II) (shown also using an 8 PSK shaped constellation) according to the invention.

[0068]FIG. 39A is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an LDPC-BICM communication system II that performs encoding of an LDPC-BICM signal using 2 Gray code maps (G-map I and G-map II) and performs decoding of the LDPC-BICM signal using bit metric only according to the invention.

[0069]FIG. 39B is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an LDPC-BICM communication system III that performs encoding of an LDPC-BICM signal using 2 Gray code maps and performs decoding of the LDPC-BICM signal using a hybrid decoding approach according to the invention.

[0070]FIG. 40A is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a non-Gray code map (NG-map I) (shown also using an 8 PSK shaped constellation) according to the invention.

[0071]FIG. 40B is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an LDPC-BICM communication system IV that performs encoding of an LDPC-BICM signal using 1 Gray code map (G-map II) and 1 non-Gray code map (NG-map I) and performs decoding of the LDPC-BICM signal using a hybrid decoding approach according to the invention.

[0072]FIG. 41 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an LDPC-BICM communication system V that performs encoding of an LDPC-BICM signal using 1 Gray code map (G-map II) and 1 non-Gray code map (NG-map I) and performs decoding of the LDPC-BICM signal using bit metric only.

[0073]FIG. 42 is a diagram illustrating performance comparison of 2 bit/s/Hz embodiments of the LDPC-BICM communication systems I, II, III, IV, and V (results shown after having performed 50 decoding iterations) according to the invention.

[0074]FIG. 43A is a diagram illustrating another embodiment of a non-Gray code map (NG-map II) (shown also using an 8 PSK shaped constellation) according to the invention.

[0075]FIG. 43B is a diagram illustrating an alternatively embodiment of the LDPC-BICM communication system IV that performs encoding of an LDPC-BICM signal using 1 Gray code map (G-map II) and 1 non-Gray code map (NG-map II) and performs decoding of the LDPC-BICM signal using a hybrid decoding approach according to the invention.

[0076]FIG. 44 is a diagram illustrating performance comparison of two alternative embodiments of 2 bit/s/Hz LDPC-BICM communication systems IV (respectively, using two possible non-Gray code maps (NG-map I and NG-map II)) according to the invention.

[0077]FIG. 45A is a diagram illustrating another embodiment of a non-Gray code map (NG-map III) (shown also using an 8 PSK shaped constellation) according to the invention.

[0078]FIG. 45B is a diagram illustrating an alternatively embodiment of the LDPC-BICM communication system IV that performs encoding of an LDPC-BICM signal using 1 Gray code map (G-map II) and 1 non-Gray code map (NG-map III) and performs decoding of the LDPC-BICM signal using a hybrid decoding approach according to the invention.

[0079]FIG. 46 is a diagram illustrating performance comparison of three alternative embodiments of 2 bit/s/Hz LDPC-BICM communication systems IV (respectively using three possible non-Gray code maps (NG-map I, NG-map II, and NG-map III)) according to the invention.

[0080]FIG. 47 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a method for generating an LDPC-BICM (Low Density Parity Check-Bit Interleaved Coded Modulation) signal having a non-Gray code mapping according to the invention.

[0081]FIG. 48 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a method for hybrid decoding of LDPC-BICM signal having a non-Gray code mapping according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0082] Various aspects of the invention may be found in any number of devices that perform either one or both of encoding and decoding of LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) coded signals. Moreover, in some embodiments, the encoding and decoding may be performed by combining LDPC coding and modulation coding to generate an LDPC coded signal. In some instances of the invention, the LDPC encoding is combined with modulation encoding to generate a variable modulation signal whose modulation may vary as frequently as on a symbol by symbol basis. That is to say, the constellation and/or mapping of the symbols of an LDPC coded variable modulation signal may vary as frequently as on a symbol by symbol basis. In addition, the code rate of the symbols of the coded signal may also vary as frequently as on a symbol by symbol basis. In general, an LDPC signal generated according to the encoding aspects of the invention may be characterized as a variable code rate and/or modulation signal.

[0083] Various decoding aspects of the invention may be found in devices that perform hybrid decoding of LDPC coded modulation signals. In addition, these aspects may be found in devices that perform hybrid decoding of LDPC coded variable modulation signals. It is also noted that the hybrid decoding aspects of the invention are also applicable to decode LDPC signals that have a single code rate and/or single modulation for all of the symbols of the LDPC signal. For example, for an LDPC signal whose symbols all have a common code rate and a common modulation (constellation and mapping), the hybrid decoding aspects of the invention may also be employed. Also, various hybrid decoding aspects of the invention may be found in devices that perform hybrid decoding of LDPC coded signals that do not necessarily include combined LDPC coding and modulation encoding. For example, these hybrid decoding aspects of the invention are also operable to perform hybrid decoding of signals that are generated using only LDPC coding (e.g., not be using combined LDPC coding and modulation coding). The LDPC hybrid decoding may be implemented to perform updating of a bit metric that is employed.

[0084] All prior art communication systems that employ LDPC-BICM signals use Gray code maps to perform the symbol mapping of symbols to their corresponding constellations. Within such prior art communication systems, the main reason that Gray code maps are employed is that the decoding of such LDPC-BICM signals achieves better performance when only bit metric decoding is performed. For example, the prior art approaches to perform decoding of LDPC-BICM signals typically only perform bit level decoding that uses bit metrics. However, in contradistinction, the invention provides for a means to employ multiple mappings when generating an LDPC-BICM signal for use in a communication system. In addition, the invention also provides for a means to perform hybrid decoding of such an LDPC-BICM signal. By combining the multiple mapping and hybrid decoding functionality, a novel approach is presented by which non-Gray code maps may be used to map symbols when generating an LDPC-BICM signal.

[0085] Various embodiments of an LDPC-BICM communication system are presented herein using symbol maps that include a combination of non-Gray code maps with Gray code maps. By also employing hybrid decoding of such LDPC-BICM signals that have been generated using non-Gray code mapping, this new communication system is shown to provide for an increase in performance of at least 0.175 dB (decibels) better than a communication system that employs an LDPC-BICM signal that is generated using only a single Gray code map and that is decoded using only bit decoding. Moreover, the new communication system type that is presented herein provides for at least 0.125 dB better performance than a communication system that employs an LDPC-BICM signal that is generated using multiple Gray code maps and that is decoded using only bit decoding. By also combining non-Gray code mapping with Gray code mapping within a communication system that employs an LDPC-BICM signal that is generated using multiple maps (e.g., some of which are Gray code maps and some of which are non-Gray code maps), and by also decoding the generated LDPC-BICM signal using hybrid decoding, a performance improvement of at least 0.075 dB is achieved over a communication system that employs an LDPC-BICM signal that is generated using multiple Gray code maps and that is decoded using hybrid decoding.

[0086] Various system embodiments are described below where any of the various aspects of the invention may be implemented. In general, any device that performs encoding and/or hybrid decoding of LDPC coded signals may benefit from the invention. Again, this also includes those LDPC coded signals that have variable code rate and/or modulation as well as those that include combined LDPC coding and modulation coding.

[0087]FIG. 1 is a system diagram illustrating an embodiment of a satellite communication system that is built according to the invention. A satellite transmitter is communicatively coupled to a satellite dish that is operable to communicate with a satellite. The satellite transmitter may also be communicatively coupled to a wired network. This wired network may include any number of networks including the Internet, proprietary networks, other wired networks and/or WANs (Wide Area Networks). The satellite transmitter employs the satellite dish to communicate to the satellite via a wireless communication channel. The satellite is able to communicate with one or more satellite receivers (each having a satellite dish). Each of the satellite receivers may also be communicatively coupled to a display.

[0088] Here, the communication to and from the satellite may cooperatively be viewed as being a wireless communication channel, or each of the communication links to and from the satellite may be viewed as being two distinct wireless communication channels.

[0089] For example, the wireless communication “channel” may be viewed as not including multiple wireless hops in one embodiment. In other multi-hop embodiments, the satellite receives a signal received from the satellite transmitter (via its satellite dish), amplifies it, and relays it to satellite receiver (via its satellite dish); the satellite receiver may also be implemented using terrestrial receivers such as satellite receivers, satellite based telephones, and/or satellite based Internet receivers, among other receiver types. In the case where the satellite receives a signal received from the satellite transmitter (via its satellite dish), amplifies it, and relays it, the satellite may be viewed as being a “transponder;” this is a multi-hop embodiment. In addition, other satellites may exist that perform both receiver and transmitter operations in cooperation with the satellite. In this case, each leg of an up-down transmission via the wireless communication channel would be considered separately.

[0090] In whichever embodiment, the satellite communicates with the satellite receiver. The satellite receiver may be viewed as being a mobile unit in certain embodiments (employing a local antenna); alternatively, the satellite receiver may be viewed as being a satellite earth station that may be communicatively coupled to a wired network in a similar manner in which the satellite transmitter may also be communicatively coupled to a wired network.

[0091] The satellite transmitter is operable to encode information (using an encoder) in a manner in accordance with the functionality and/or processing of at least some of the various aspects of the invention to assist in generating a signal that is to be launched into the communication channel coupling the satellite transmitter and the satellite receiver. The satellite receiver is operable to decode a signal (using a decoder) received from the communication channel in a manner in accordance with the functionality and/or processing of at least some of the various aspects of the invention. This diagram shows one embodiment where one or more of the various aspects of the invention may be found.

[0092]FIG. 2 is a system diagram illustrating an embodiment of an HDTV (High Definition Television) communication system that is built according to the invention. An HDTV transmitter is communicatively coupled to a tower. The HDTV transmitter, using its tower, transmits a signal to a local tower dish via a wireless communication channel. The local tower dish may communicatively couple to an HDTV STB (Set Top Box) receiver via a coaxial cable. The HDTV STB receiver includes the functionality to receive the wireless transmitted signal that has been received by the local tower dish. This functionality may include any transformation and/or down-converting that may be needed to accommodate for any up-converting that may have been performed before and during transmission of the signal from the HDTV transmitter and its corresponding tower to transform the signal into a format that is compatible with the communication channel across which it is transmitted. For example, certain communication systems step a signal that is to be transmitted from a baseband signal to an IF (Intermediate Frequency) signal, and then to a carrier frequency signal before launching the signal into a communication channel. Alternatively, some communication systems perform a conversion directly from baseband to carrier frequency before launching the signal into a communication channel. In whichever case is employed within the particular embodiment, the HDTV STB receiver is operable to perform any down-converting that may be necessary to transform the received signal to a baseband signal that is appropriate for demodulating and decoding to extract the information there from.

[0093] The HDTV STB receiver is also communicatively coupled to an HDTV display that is able to display the demodulated and decoded wireless transmitted signals received by the HDTV STB receiver and its local tower dish. The HDTV transmitter (via its tower) transmits a signal directly to the local tower dish via the wireless communication channel in this embodiment. In alternative embodiments, the HDTV transmitter may first receive a signal from a satellite, using a satellite earth station that is communicatively coupled to the HDTV transmitter, and then transmit this received signal to the local tower dish via the wireless communication channel. In this situation, the HDTV transmitter operates as a relaying element to transfer a signal originally provided by the satellite that is ultimately destined for the HDTV STB receiver. For example, another satellite earth station may first transmit a signal to the satellite from another location, and the satellite may relay this signal to the satellite earth station that is communicatively coupled to the HDTV transmitter. In such a case the HDTV transmitter include transceiver functionality such that it may first perform receiver functionality and then perform transmitter functionality to transmit this received signal to the local tower dish.

[0094] In even other embodiments, the HDTV transmitter employs its satellite earth station to communicate to the satellite via a wireless communication channel. The satellite is able to communicate with a local satellite dish; the local satellite dish communicatively couples to the HDTV STB receiver via a coaxial cable. This path of transmission shows yet another communication path where the HDTV STB receiver may communicate with the HDTV transmitter.

[0095] In whichever embodiment and by whichever signal path the HDTV transmitter employs to communicate with the HDTV STB receiver, the HDTV STB receiver is operable to receive communication transmissions from the HDTV transmitter and to demodulate and decode them appropriately.

[0096] The HDTV transmitter is operable to encode information (using an encoder) in a manner in accordance with the functionality and/or processing of at least some of the various aspects of the invention to assist in generating a signal that is to be launched into the communication channel coupling the HDTV transmitter and the HDTV STB receiver. The HDTV STB receiver is operable to decode a signal (using a decoder) received from the communication channel in a manner in accordance with the functionality and/or processing of at least some of the various aspects of the invention. This diagram shows yet another embodiment where one or more of the various aspects of the invention may be found.

[0097]FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B are system diagrams illustrating embodiments of uni-directional cellular communication systems that are built according to the invention.

[0098] Referring to the FIG. 3A, a mobile transmitter includes a local antenna communicatively coupled thereto. The mobile transmitter may be any number of types of transmitters including a one way cellular telephone, a wireless pager unit, a mobile computer having transmission functionality, or any other type of mobile transmitter. The mobile transmitter transmits a signal, using its local antenna, to a cellular tower via a wireless communication channel. The cellular tower is communicatively coupled to a base station receiver; the receiving tower is operable to receive data transmission from the local antenna of the mobile transmitter that has been communicated via the wireless communication channel. The cellular tower communicatively couples the received signal to the base station receiver.

[0099] The mobile transmitter is operable to encode information (using an encoder) in a manner in accordance with the functionality and/or processing of at least some of the various aspects of the invention to assist in generating a signal that is to be launched into the communication channel coupling the mobile transmitter and the base station receiver. The base station receiver is operable to decode a signal (using a decoder) received from the communication channel in a manner in accordance with the functionality and/or processing of at least some of the various aspects of the invention. This diagram shows yet another embodiment where one or more of the various aspects of the invention may be found.

[0100] Referring to the FIG. 3B, a base station transmitter includes a cellular tower communicatively coupled thereto. The base station transmitter, using its cellular tower, transmits a signal to a mobile receiver via a communication channel. The mobile receiver may be any number of types of receivers including a one-way cellular telephone, a wireless pager unit, a mobile computer having receiver functionality, or any other type of mobile receiver. The mobile receiver is communicatively coupled to a local antenna; the local antenna is operable to receive data transmission from the cellular tower of the base station transmitter that has been communicated via the wireless communication channel. The local antenna communicatively couples the received signal to the mobile receiver.

[0101] The base station transmitter is operable to encode information (using an encoder) in a manner in accordance with the functionality and/or processing of at least some of the various aspects of the invention to assist in generating a signal that is to be launched into the communication channel coupling the base station transmitter and the mobile receiver. The mobile receiver is operable to decode a signal (using a decoder) received from the communication channel in a manner in accordance with the functionality and/or processing of at least some of the various aspects of the invention. This diagram shows yet another embodiment where one or more of the various aspects of the invention may be found.

[0102]FIG. 4 is a system diagram illustrating an embodiment of a bi-directional cellular communication system, built according to the invention, where the communication can go to and from the base station transceiver and to and from the mobile transceiver via the wireless communication channel.

[0103] Referring to the FIG. 4, a base station transceiver includes a cellular tower communicatively coupled thereto. The base station transceiver, using its cellular tower, transmits a signal to a mobile transceiver via a communication channel. The reverse communication operation may also be performed. The mobile transceiver is able to transmit a signal to the base station transceiver as well. The mobile transceiver may be any number of types of transceivers including a cellular telephone, a wireless pager unit, a mobile computer having transceiver functionality, or any other type of mobile transceiver. The mobile transceiver is communicatively coupled to a local antenna; the local antenna is operable to receive data transmission from the cellular tower of the base station transceiver that has been communicated via the wireless communication channel. The local antenna communicatively couples the received signal to the mobile transceiver.

[0104] The base station transceiver is operable to encode information (using its corresponding encoder) that is to be transmitted to the mobile transceiver. The mobile transceiver is operable to decode the transmitted signal (using its corresponding decoder). Similarly, mobile transceiver is operable to encode information (using its corresponding encoder) that is to be transmitted to the base station transceiver; the base station transceiver is operable to decode the transmitted signal (using its corresponding decoder).

[0105] As within other embodiments that employ an encoder and a decoder, the encoder of either of the base station transceiver or the mobile transceiver may be implemented to encode information (using its corresponding encoder) in a manner in accordance with the functionality and/or processing of at least some of the various aspects of the invention to assist in generating a signal that is to be launched into the communication channel coupling the base station transceiver and the mobile transceiver. The decoder of either of the base station transceiver or the mobile transceiver may be implemented to decode the transmitted signal (using its corresponding decoder) in a manner in accordance with the functionality and/or processing of at least some of the various aspects of the invention. This diagram shows yet another embodiment where one or more of the various aspects of the invention may be found.

[0106]FIG. 5 is a system diagram illustrating an embodiment of a unidirectional microwave communication system that is built according to the invention. A microwave transmitter is communicatively coupled to a microwave tower. The microwave transmitter, using its microwave tower, transmits a signal to a microwave tower via a wireless communication channel. A microwave receiver is communicatively coupled to the microwave tower. The microwave tower is able to receive transmissions from the microwave tower that have been communicated via the wireless communication channel.

[0107] The microwave transmitter is operable to encode information (using an encoder) in a manner in accordance with the functionality and/or processing of at least some of the various aspects of the invention to assist in generating a signal that is to be launched into the communication channel coupling the microwave transmitter and the microwave receiver. The microwave receiver is operable to decode a signal (using a decoder) received from the communication channel in a manner in accordance with the functionality and/or processing of at least some of the various aspects of the invention. This diagram shows yet another embodiment where one or more of the various aspects of the invention may be found.

[0108]FIG. 6 is a system diagram illustrating an embodiment of a bi-directional microwave communication system that is built according to the invention. Within the FIG. 6, a first microwave transceiver is communicatively coupled to a first microwave tower. The first microwave transceiver, using the first microwave tower (the first microwave transceiver's microwave tower), transmits a signal to a second microwave tower of a second microwave transceiver via a wireless communication channel. The second microwave transceiver is communicatively coupled to the second microwave tower (the second microwave transceiver's microwave tower). The second microwave tower is able to receive transmissions from the first microwave tower that have been communicated via the wireless communication channel. The reverse communication operation may also be performed using the first and second microwave transceivers.

[0109] Each of the microwave transceivers is operable to encode information (using its corresponding encoder) that is to be transmitted the other microwave transceiver. Each microwave transceiver is operable to decode the transmitted signal (using its corresponding decoder) that it receives. Each of the microwave transceivers includes an encoder and a decoder.

[0110] As within other embodiments that employ an encoder and a decoder, the encoder of either of the microwave transceivers may be implemented to encode information (using its corresponding encoder) in a manner in accordance with the functionality and/or processing of at least some of the various aspects of the invention to assist in generating a signal that is to be launched into the communication channel coupling the microwave transceivers. The decoder of either of the microwave transceivers may be implemented to decode the transmitted signal (using its corresponding decoder) in a manner in accordance with the functionality and/or processing of at least some of the various aspects of the invention. This diagram shows yet another embodiment where one or more of the various aspects of the invention may be found.

[0111]FIG. 7 is a system diagram illustrating an embodiment of a uni-directional point-to-point radio communication system, built according to the invention, where the communication goes from a mobile unit transmitter to a mobile unit receiver via the wireless communication channel.

[0112] A mobile unit transmitter includes a local antenna communicatively coupled thereto. The mobile unit transmitter, using its local antenna, transmits a signal to a local antenna of a mobile unit receiver via a wireless communication channel.

[0113] The mobile unit transmitter is operable to encode information (using an encoder) in a manner in accordance with the functionality and/or processing of at least some of the various aspects of the invention to assist in generating a signal that is to be launched into the communication channel coupling the mobile unit transmitter and the mobile unit receiver. The mobile unit receiver is operable to decode a signal (using a decoder) received from the communication channel in a manner in accordance with the functionality and/or processing of at least some of the various aspects of the invention. This diagram shows yet another embodiment where one or more of the various aspects of the invention may be found.

[0114]FIG. 8 is a system diagram illustrating an embodiment of a bi-directional point-to-point radio communication system that is built according to the invention. A first mobile unit transceiver is communicatively coupled to a first local antenna. The first mobile unit transceiver, using the first local antenna (the first mobile unit transceiver's local antenna), transmits a signal to a second local antenna of a second mobile unit transceiver via a wireless communication channel. The second mobile unit transceiver is communicatively coupled to the second local antenna (the second mobile unit transceiver's local antenna). The second local antenna is able to receive transmissions from the first local antenna that have been communicated via the communication channel. The reverse communication operation may also be performed using the first and second mobile unit transceivers.

[0115] Each of the mobile unit transceivers is operable to encode information (using its corresponding encoder) that is to be transmitted the other mobile unit transceiver. Each mobile unit transceiver is operable to decode the transmitted signal (using its corresponding decoder) that it receives. Each of the mobile unit transceivers includes an encoder and a decoder.

[0116] As within other embodiments that employ an encoder and a decoder, the encoder of either of the mobile unit transceivers may be implemented to encode information (using its corresponding encoder) in a manner in accordance with the functionality and/or processing of at least some of the various aspects of the invention to assist in generating a signal that is to be launched into the communication channel coupling the mobile unit transceivers. The decoder of either of the mobile unit transceivers may be implemented to decode the transmitted signal (using its corresponding decoder) in a manner in accordance with the functionality and/or processing of at least some of the various aspects of the invention. This diagram shows yet another embodiment where one or more of the various aspects of the invention may be found.

[0117]FIG. 9 is a system diagram illustrating an embodiment of a uni-directional communication system that is built according to the invention. A transmitter communicates to a receiver via a uni-directional communication channel. The uni-directional communication channel may be a wireline (or wired) communication channel or a wireless communication channel without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The wired media by which the uni-directional communication channel may be implemented are varied, including coaxial cable, fiber-optic cabling, and copper cabling, among other types of “wiring.” Similarly, the wireless manners in which the uni-directional communication channel may be implemented are varied, including satellite communication, cellular communication, microwave communication, and radio communication, among other types of wireless communication.

[0118] The transmitter is operable to encode information (using an encoder) in a manner in accordance with the functionality and/or processing of at least some of the various aspects of the invention to assist in generating a signal that is to be launched into the communication channel coupling the transmitter and the receiver. The receiver is operable to decode a signal (using a decoder) received from the communication channel in a manner in accordance with the functionality and/or processing of at least some of the various aspects of the invention. This diagram shows yet another embodiment where one or more of the various aspects of the invention may be found.

[0119]FIG. 10 is a system diagram illustrating an embodiment of a bi-directional communication system that is built according to the invention. A first transceiver is communicatively coupled to a second transceiver via a bi-directional communication channel. The bi-directional communication channel may be a wireline (or wired) communication channel or a wireless communication channel without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The wired media by which the bi-directional communication channel may be implemented are varied, including coaxial cable, fiber-optic cabling, and copper cabling, among other types of “wiring.” Similarly, the wireless manners in which the bi-directional communication channel may be implemented are varied, including satellite communication, cellular communication, microwave communication, and radio communication, among other types of wireless communication.

[0120] Each of the transceivers is operable to encode information (using its corresponding encoder) that is to be transmitted the other transceiver. Each transceiver is operable to decode the transmitted signal (using its corresponding decoder) that it receives. Each of the transceivers includes an encoder and a decoder.

[0121] As within other embodiments that employ an encoder and a decoder, the encoder of either of the transceivers may be implemented to encode information (using its corresponding encoder) in a manner in accordance with the functionality and/or processing of at least some of the various aspects of the invention to assist in generating a signal that is to be launched into the communication channel coupling the transceivers. The decoder of either of the transceivers may be implemented to decode the transmitted signal (using its corresponding decoder) in a manner in accordance with the functionality and/or processing of at least some of the various aspects of the invention. This diagram shows yet another embodiment where one or more of the various aspects of the invention may be found.

[0122]FIG. 11 is a system diagram illustrating an embodiment of a one to many communication system that is built according to the invention. A transmitter is able to communicate, via broadcast in certain embodiments, with a number of receivers, shown as receivers 1, . . . , n via a uni-directional communication channel. The uni-directional communication channel may be a wireline (or wired) communication channel or a wireless communication channel without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The wired media by which the communication channel may be implemented are varied, including coaxial cable, fiber-optic cabling, and copper cabling, among other types of “wiring.” Similarly, the wireless manners in which the communication channel may be implemented are varied, including satellite communication, cellular communication, microwave communication, and radio communication, among other types of wireless communication.

[0123] A distribution point is employed within the one to many communication system to provide the appropriate communication to the receivers 1, . . . , and n. In certain embodiments, the receivers 1, . . . , and n each receive the same communication and individually discern which portion of the total communication is intended for them.

[0124] The transmitter is operable to encode information (using an encoder) in a manner in accordance with the functionality and/or processing of at least some of the various aspects of the invention to assist in generating a signal that is to be launched into the communication channel coupling the transmitter and the receivers 1, . . . , and n. Each of the receivers 1, . . . , and n is operable to decode a signal (using a decoder) received from the communication channel in a manner in accordance with the functionality and/or processing of at least some of the various aspects of the invention. This diagram shows yet another embodiment where one or more of the various aspects of the invention may be found.

[0125]FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) communication system that may be implemented according to the invention. The WLAN communication system may be implemented to include a number of devices that are all operable to communicate with one another via the WLAN. For example, the various devices that each include the functionality to interface with the WLAN may include any 1 or more of a laptop computer, a television, a PC (Personal Computer), a pen computer (that may be viewed as being a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) in some instances, a personal electronic planner, or similar device), a mobile unit (that may be viewed as being a telephone, a pager, or some other mobile WLAN operable device), and/or a stationary unit (that may be viewed as a device that typically resides in a single location within the WLAN). The antennae of any of the various WLAN interactive devices may be integrated into the corresponding devices without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as well.

[0126] This illustrated group of devices that may interact with the WLAN is not intended to be an exhaustive list of devices that may interact with a WLAN, and a generic device shown as a WLAN interactive device represents any communication device that includes the functionality in order to interactive with the WLAN itself and/or the other devices that are associated with the WLAN. Any one of these devices that associate with the WLAN may be viewed generically as being a WLAN interactive device without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Each of the devices and the WLAN interactive device may be viewed as being located at nodes of the WLAN.

[0127] It is also noted that the WLAN itself may also include functionality to allow interfacing with other networks as well. These external networks may generically be referred to as WANs (Wide Area Networks). For example, the WLAN may include an Internet I/F (interface) that allows for interfacing to the Internet itself. This Internet I/F may be viewed as being a base station device for the WLAN that allows any one of the WLAN interactive devices to access the Internet.

[0128] It is also noted that the WLAN may also include functionality to allow interfacing with other networks (e.g., other WANs) besides simply the Internet. For example, the WLAN may include a microwave tower I/F that allows for interfacing to a microwave tower thereby allowing communication with one or more microwave networks. Similar to the Internet I/F described above, the microwave tower I/F may be viewed as being a base station device for the WLAN that allows any one of the WLAN interactive devices to access the one or more microwave networks via the microwave tower.

[0129] Moreover, the WLAN may include a satellite earth station I/F that allows for interfacing to a satellite earth station thereby allowing communication with one or more satellite networks. The satellite earth station I/F may be viewed as being a base station device for the WLAN that allows any one of the WLAN interactive devices to access the one or more satellite networks via the satellite earth station I/F.

[0130] This finite listing of various network types that may interface to the WLAN is also not intended to be exhaustive. For example, any other network may communicatively couple to the WLAN via an appropriate I/F that includes the functionality for any one of the WLAN interactive devices to access the other network.

[0131] Any of the various WLAN interactive devices described within this embodiment may include an encoder and a decoder to allow bi-directional communication with the other WLAN interactive device and/or the WANs. Again, as within other embodiments that includes bi-directional communication devices having an encoder and a decoder, the encoder of any of these various WLAN interactive devices may be implemented to encode information (using its corresponding encoder) in a manner in accordance with the functionality and/or processing of at least some of the various aspects of the invention to assist in generating a signal that is to be launched into the communication channel that couples to another WLAN interactive device. The decoder of any of the various WLAN interactive devices may be implemented to decode the transmitted signal (using its corresponding decoder) in a manner in accordance with the functionality and/or processing of at least some of the various aspects of the invention. This diagram shows yet another embodiment where one or more of the various aspects of the invention may be found.

[0132] In general, any one of the WLAN interactive devices may be characterized as being an IEEE (Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers) 802.11 operable device. For example, such an 802.11 operable device may be an 802.11a operable device, an 802.11b operable device, or an 802.11g operable device. Sometimes, an IEEE 802.11 operable device is operable to communicate according to more than one of the standards (e.g., both 802.11a and 802.11g in one instance). The IEEE 802.11g specification extends the rates for packet transmission in the 2.4 GHz (Giga-Hertz) frequency band. This is achieved by allowing packets, also known as frames, of two distinct types to coexist in this band. Frames utilizing DSSS/CCK (Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum with Complementary Code Keying) have been specified for transmission in the 2.4 GHz band at rates up to 11 Mbps (Mega-bits per second) as part of the 802.11b standard. The 802.11a standard uses a different frame format with OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) to transmit at rates up to 54 Mbps with carrier frequencies in the 5 GHz range. The 802.11g specification allows for such OFDM frames to coexist with DSSS/CCK frames at 2.4 GHz.

[0133]FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) communication system that may be implemented according to the invention. The DSL communication system includes an interfacing to the Internet (or some other WAN). In this diagram, the Internet itself is shown, but other WANs may also be employed without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. An ISP (Internet Service Provider) is operable to communicate data to and from the Internet. The ISP communicatively couples to a CO (Central Office) that is typically operated by a telephone services company. The CO may also allow for the providing of telephone services to one or more subscribers. However, the CO may also be implemented to allow interfacing of Internet traffic to and from one or more users (whose interactive devices are shown as user devices). These user devices may be any device within a wide variety of devices including desk-top computers, laptop computers, servers, and/or hand held devices without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Any of these user devices may be wired or wireless type devices as well. Each of the user devices is operably coupled to the CO via a DSL modem. The DSL modem may also be communicatively coupled to a multiple user access point or hub to allow more than one user device to access the Internet.

[0134] The CO and the various DSL modems may also be implemented to include an encoder and a decoder to allow bi-directional communication therein. For example, the CO is operable to encode and decode data when communicating to and from the various DSL modems and the ISP. Similarly, each of the various DSL modems is operable to encode and decode data when communicating to and from the CO and its respective one or more user devices.

[0135] As within other embodiments that employ an encoder and a decoder, the encoder of any of the CO and the various DSL modems may be implemented to encode information (using its corresponding encoder) in a manner in accordance with the functionality and/or processing of at least some of the various aspects of the invention to assist in generating a signal that is to be launched into the communication channel coupling the CO and the various DSL modems. The decoder of any of the CO and the various DSL modems may be implemented to decode the transmitted signal (using its corresponding decoder) in a manner in accordance with the functionality and/or processing of at least some of the various aspects of the invention. This diagram shows yet another embodiment where one or more of the various aspects of the invention may be found.

[0136]FIG. 14 is a system diagram illustrating an embodiment of a fiber-optic communication system that is built according to the invention. The fiber-optic communication system includes a DWDM (Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing, within the context of fiber optic communications) line card that is interposed between a line side and a client side. DWDM is a technology that has gained increasing interest recently. From both technical and economic perspectives, the ability to provide potentially unlimited transmission capacity is the most obvious advantage of DWDM technology. The current investment already made within fiber-optic infrastructure can not only be preserved when using DWDM, but it may even be optimized by a factor of at least 32. As demands change, more capacity can be added, either by simple equipment upgrades or by increasing the number of wavelengths (lambdas) on the fiber-optic cabling itself, without expensive upgrades. Capacity can be obtained for the cost of the equipment, and existing fiber plant investment is retained. From the bandwidth perspective, some of the most compelling technical advantages of DWDM can be summarized as follows:

[0137] 1. The transparency of DWDM: Because DWDM is a PHY (physical layer) architecture, it can transparently support both TDM (Time Division Multiplexing) and data formats such as ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode), Gigabit Ethernet, ESCON (Enterprise System CONnection), and Fibre Channel with open interfaces over a common physical layer.

[0138] 2. The scalability of DWDM: DWDM can leverage the abundance of dark fiber in many metropolitan area and enterprise networks to quickly meet demand for capacity on point-to-point links and on spans of existing SONET/SDH (Synchronous Optical NETwork)/(Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) rings.

[0139] 3. The dynamic provisioning capabilities of DWDM: the fast, simple, and dynamic provisioning of network connections give providers the ability to provide high-bandwidth services in days rather than months.

[0140] Fiber-optic interfacing is employed at each of the client and line sides of the DWDM line card. The DWDM line card includes a transport processor that includes functionality to support DWDM long haul transport, DWDM metro transport, next-generation SONET/SDH multiplexers, digital cross-connects, and fiber-optic terminators and test equipment. On the line side, the DWDM line card includes a transmitter, that is operable to perform electrical to optical conversion for interfacing to an optical medium, and a receiver, that is operable to perform optical to electrical conversion for interfacing from the optical medium. On the client side, the DWDM line card includes a 10G serial module that is operable to communicate with any other devices on the client side of the fiber-optic communication system using a fiber-optic interface. Alternatively, the interface may be implemented using non-fiber-optic media, including copper cabling and/or some other type of interface medium.

[0141] The DWDM transport processor of the DWDM line card includes a decoder that is used to decode received signals from either one or both of the line and client sides and an encoder that is used to encode signals to be transmitted to either one or both of the line and client sides.

[0142] As within other embodiments that employ an encoder and a decoder, the encoder is operable to encode information in a manner in accordance with the functionality and/or processing of at least some of the various aspects of the invention to assist in generating a signal that is to be launched into the communication channel to which the DWDM line card is coupled. The decoder is operable to decode a signal received from the communication channel in a manner in accordance with the functionality and/or processing of at least some of the various aspects of the invention. This diagram shows yet another embodiment where one or more of the various aspects of the invention may be found.

[0143]FIG. 15 is a system diagram illustrating an embodiment of a satellite receiver STB (Set Top Box) system that is built according to the invention. The satellite receiver STB system includes an advanced modulation satellite receiver that is implemented in an all digital architecture. Moreover, the advanced modulation satellite receiver may be implemented within a single integrated circuit in some embodiments. The satellite receiver STB system includes a satellite tuner that receives a signal via the L-band (e.g., within the frequency range between 390-1550 MHz (Mega-Hertz) in the ultrahigh radio frequency range). The satellite tuner extracts I, Q (In-phase, Quadrature) components from a signal received from the L-band and provides them to the advanced modulation satellite receiver. The advanced modulation satellite receiver includes a decoder.

[0144] As within other embodiments that employ a decoder, the decoder is operable to decode a signal received from a communication channel to which the advanced modulation satellite receiver is coupled in a manner in accordance with the functionality and/or processing of at least some of the various aspects of the invention. This diagram shows yet another embodiment where one or more of the various aspects of the invention may be found.

[0145] The advanced modulation satellite receiver may be implemented to communicatively couple to an HDTV MPEG-2 (Motion Picture Expert Group, level 2) transport de-mux, audio/video decoder and display engine. The advanced modulation satellite receiver and the HDTV MPEG-2 transport de-mux, audio/video decoder and display engine communicatively couple to a host CPU (Central Processing Unit). The HDTV MPEG-2 transport de-mux, audio/video decoder and display engine also communicatively couples to a memory module and a conditional access functional block. The HDTV MPEG-2 transport de-mux, audio/video decoder and display engine provides HD (High Definition) video and audio output that may be provided to an HDTV display.

[0146] The advanced modulation satellite receiver may be implemented as a single-chip digital satellite receiver supporting the decoder that operates in a manner in accordance with the functionality and/or processing of at least some of the various aspects of the invention. The advanced modulation satellite receiver is operable to receive communication provided to it from a transmitter device that includes an encoder as well.

[0147] In addition, several of the following Figures describe particular embodiments that may be used to implement some of the various aspects of processing bit interleaved LDPC coded modulation signals (or LDPC-BICM signals) that have been generated using non-Gray code mapping according to the invention. Several details of these various aspects are provided below. Initially, a general description of LDPC codes is provided.

[0148]FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) code bipartite graph. An LDPC code may be viewed as being a code having a binary parity check matrix such that nearly all of the elements of the matrix have values of zeros (e.g., the binary parity check matrix is sparse). For example, H=(h_(i,j))_(M×N) may be viewed as being a parity check matrix of an LDPC code with block length N. If every column of the matrix has d_(v) 1's, and every row of the matrix has d_(c) 1's, then this code is referred to as a (d_(v),d_(c)) regular LDPC code. For example, a regular (4,72) LDPC code would be viewed as being a code whose binary parity check matrix would have 4 1's in every column and 72 1's in every row. These regular LDPC codes were introduced in R. Gallager, Low-Density Parity-Check Codes, Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1963.

[0149] A regular LDPC code can be represented as a bipartite graph by its parity check matrix with left side nodes representing variable of the code bits, and the right side nodes representing check equations. The bipartite graph of the code defined by H may be defined by N variable nodes and M check nodes. Every variable node of the N variable nodes has exactly d_(v) edges connecting this node to one or more of the check nodes (within the M check nodes). This number of d_(v) edges may be referred to as the degree of a variable node. Analogously, every check node of the M check nodes has exactly d_(c) edges connecting this node to one or more of the variable nodes. This number of d_(c) edges may be referred to as the degree of a check node.

[0150] An edge between a variable node v_(i) and check node c_(j) may be defined by e=(i,j). However, on the other hand, given an edge e=(i,j), the nodes of the edge may alternatively be denoted as by e=(v(e),c(e)). Given a variable node v_(i), one may define the set of edges emitting from the node v_(i) by E_(v)(i)={e|v(e)=i}. Given a check node c_(j), one may define the set of edges emitting from the node c_(j) by E_(c)(j)={e|c(e)=j}. Continuing on, the derivative result will be |E_(v)(i)|=d_(v) and |E_(c)(j)|=d_(c).

[0151] An irregular LDPC code may also described using a bipartite graph. However, the degree of each set of nodes within an irregular LDPC code may be chosen according to some distribution. Therefore, for two different variable nodes, v_(i) ₁ and v_(i) ₂ , of an irregular LDPC code, |E_(v)(i₁)| may not equal to |E_(v)(i₂)|. This relationship may also hold true for two check nodes. The concept of irregular LDPC codes was originally introduced within M. Lugy, M. Mitzenmacher, A. Shokrollahi, D. Spielman and V. Stemann, “Practical loss-resilient codes,” IEEE Trans. Inform. Theory, Vol. 47, pp. 569-584, February 2001.

[0152] In general, with a graph of an LDPC code, the parameters of an LDPC code can be defined by a degree of distribution, as described within M. Lugy, et al. (referenced above) and also within T. J. Richardson and R. L. Urbanke, “The capacity of low-density parity-check code under message-passing decoding,” IEEE Trans. Inform. Theory, Vol. 47, pp. 599-618, February 2001. This distribution may be described as follows:

[0153] Let λ_(i) represent the fraction of edges emanating from variable nodes of degree i and let ρ_(i) represent the fraction of edges emanating from check nodes of degree i. Then, a degree distribution pair (λ,ρ) is defined as follows: ${{\lambda (x)} = {{\sum\limits_{i = 2}^{M_{v}}{\lambda_{i}x^{i - 1}\quad {and}\quad {\rho (x)}}} = {\sum\limits_{i = 2}^{M_{c}}{\rho_{i}x^{i - 1}}}}},{{where}\quad M_{v}\quad {and}\quad M_{c}\quad {represent}\quad {the}\quad {maximal}}$

[0154] degrees for variable nodes and check nodes, respectively.

[0155] While many of the illustrative embodiments described herein utilize regular LDPC code examples, it is noted that the invention is also operable to accommodate both regular LDPC codes and irregular LDPC codes.

[0156] The LLR (Log-Likelihood Ratio) decoding of LDPC codes may be described as follows: the probability that a bit within a received vector in fact has a value of 1 when a 1 was actually transmitted is calculated. Similarly, the probability that a bit within a received vector in fact has a value of 0 when a 0 was actually transmitted is calculated. These probabilities are calculated using the LDPC code that is use to check the parity of the received vector. The LLR is the logarithm of the ratio of these two calculated probabilities. This LLR will give a measure of the degree to which the communication channel over which a signal is transmitted may undesirably affect the bits within the vector.

[0157] The LLR decoding of LDPC codes may be described mathematically as follows:

[0158] Beginning with C={v|v=(v₀, . . . , v_(N−1)),vH^(T)=0} being an LDPC code and viewing a received vector, y=(y₀, . . . , y_(N−1)), with the sent signal having the form of ((−1)^(v) ^(_(0i)) , . . . , (−1)^(v) ^(_(N−1)) ), then the metrics of the channel may be defined as p(y_(i)|v_(i)=0),p(y_(i)|v_(i)=1),i=0, . . . , N−1. The LLR of a metric will then be defined as follows: ${L_{metric}(i)} = {\ln \frac{p\left( {\left. y_{i} \middle| v_{i} \right. = 0} \right)}{p\left( {\left. y_{i} \middle| v_{i} \right. = 1} \right)}}$

[0159] For every variable node v_(i), its LLR information value will then be defined as follows: ${\ln \frac{p\left( {v_{i} = \left. 0 \middle| y_{i} \right.} \right)}{p\left( {v_{i} = \left. 1 \middle| y_{i} \right.} \right)}} = {{L_{metrtic}(i)} + {\ln \frac{p\left( {v_{i} = 0} \right)}{p\left( {v_{i} = 1} \right)}}}$

[0160] Since the variable node, v_(i), is in a codeword, then the value of the ratio of these, In $\frac{p\left( {v_{i} = 0} \right)}{p\left( {v_{i} = 1} \right)},$

[0161] may be replaced by the following ${\ln \frac{p\left( {{v_{i} = 0},{{vH}^{T} = \left. 0 \middle| y \right.}} \right)}{p\left( {{v_{i} = 1},{{vH}^{T} = \left. 0 \middle| y \right.}} \right)}} = {\sum\limits_{{({i,j})}\varepsilon \quad {E_{v}{(i)}}}^{\quad}{\ln \frac{p\left( {{v_{i} = 0},{{vh}_{j}^{T} = \left. 0 \middle| y \right.}} \right)}{p\left( {{v_{i} = 1},{{vh}_{j}^{T} = \left. 0 \middle| y \right.}} \right)}}}$

[0162] where E_(v)(i) is a set of edges starting with v_(i) as defined above.

[0163] When performing the BP (Belief Propagation) decoding approach in this context, then the value of ln $\ln \frac{p\left( {{v_{i} = 0},{{vh}_{j}^{T} = \left. 0 \middle| y \right.}} \right)}{p\left( {{v_{i} = 1},{{vh}_{j}^{T} = \left. 0 \middle| y \right.}} \right)}$

[0164] may be replaced by the following relationship ${L_{check}\left( {i,j} \right)} = {\ln \frac{p\left( {{\sum\limits_{e\quad \varepsilon \quad {{E_{c}{(j)}}\backslash {\{{({i,j})}\}}}}^{\quad}v_{v{(e)}}} = \left. 0 \middle| y \right.} \right)}{p\left( {{\sum\limits_{e\quad \varepsilon \quad {{E_{c}{(j)}}\backslash {\{{({i,j})}\}}}}^{\quad}v_{v{(e)}}} = \left. 1 \middle| y \right.} \right)}}$

[0165] L_(check)(i,j) is called the EXT (extrinsic) information of the check node c_(j) with respect to the edge (i,j). In addition, it is noted that e∈E_(c)(j)\{(i,j)} indicates all of the edges emitting from check node c_(j) except for the edge that emits from the check node c_(j) to the variable node v_(i). Extrinsic information values may be viewed as those values that are calculated to assist in the generation of best estimates of actual bit values within a received vector. Also in a BP approach, then the extrinsic information of the variable node v_(i) with respect to the edge (i,j) may be defined as follows: ${L_{var}\left( {i,j} \right)} = {{L_{metric}(i)} + {\sum\limits_{{({i,k})}\varepsilon \quad {{E_{v}{(i)}}\backslash {\{{({i,j})}\}}}}^{\quad}{{L_{check}\left( {i,k} \right)}.}}}$

[0166] From certain perspectives, the invention may be implemented within communication systems that involve combining modulation coding with LDPC coding to generate LDPC coded modulation signals. These LDPC coded modulation signals may be such that they have a code rate and/or modulation (constellation and mapping) that varies as frequently as on a symbol by symbol basis. Up to now, there have been some attempts to combine modulation encoding with LDPC coding, yet they are all limited to employing only a single code rate or modulation (constellation and mapping) symbols generated thereby. Nevertheless, some of the possible approaches to combine modulation coding and LDPC coding are described below. In addition, various approaches by which symbol decoding of LDPC coded modulation signals that have been encoded using non-Gray code maps are also presented.

[0167]FIG. 17A is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of direct combining of LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) coding and modulation encoding. A binary sequence (e.g., a bit stream) is provided to an LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) encoder. The LDPC encoder introduces a degree of redundancy (or parity) within the bit sequence provided thereto. These LDPC coded bits are then provided to a S/P (Serial to Parallel) path such that the output symbols may be provided to a modulation encoder. This S/P path performs the bit to m-bit symbol transformation. The modulation encoder outputs a signal sequence that includes symbols (composed of LDPC coded bits) that correspond to a modulation having a constellation and a mapping.

[0168]FIG. 17B is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of BICM (Bit Interleaved Coded Modulation) that is employed in conjunction with LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) coding and modulation encoding. This embodiment is similar to the embodiment described above that performs direct combining of LDPC coding and modulation encoding, with the exception that an interleaver is interposed between the LDPC encoder and the modulation encoder.

[0169] A binary sequence (e.g., a bit stream) is provided to an LDPC encoder. The LDPC encoder introduces a degree of redundancy (or parity) within the bit sequence provided thereto. These LDPC coded bits are then provided to an interleaver to generate a degree of randomness within the LDPC coded bits thereby (hopefully) making that LDPC coded bit sequence to be more robust to interference, noise, and other deleterious effects. This LDPC coded bit sequence that has been interleaved is then provided to a S/P (Serial to Parallel) path such that the output symbols may be provided to a modulation encoder. Again, this S/P path performs the bit to m-bit symbol transformation. The modulation encoder outputs a signal sequence that includes symbols (composed of the interleaved LDPC coded bits) that correspond to a modulation having a constellation and a mapping.

[0170]FIG. 17C is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of multilevel coded modulation encoding. Rather than require a S/P (Serial to Parallel) path between a single LDPC encoder and a modulation encoder, this embodiment shows a plurality of LDPC encoders operating in parallel such that the outputs of each of the LDPC encoder is already within parallel format (thereby obviating the need for the S/P (Serial to Parallel) path employed within the embodiments described above). The outputs of these LDPC encoders are provided to a modulation encoder. The modulation encoder outputs a signal sequence that includes symbols (composed of the LDPC coded bits provided by the various LDPC encoders) that correspond to a modulation having a constellation and a mapping.

[0171] All 3 of these embodiments, described above that perform the combination of LDPC coding and modulation encoding, typically operate using a single code rate and also use a single modulation (constellation and mapping) to map the binary bits to a given constellation. That is to say, they all typically employ a single code rate and a single modulation (having a single constellation type and a single mapping) for that single constellation. This approach inherently limits the maximal performance that may be achieved using these approaches. In contradistinction, the invention is operable to operate on LDPC coded signals having a code rate and/or a modulation (constellation and mapping) that may vary as frequently as on a symbol by symbol basis. To illustrate further the single modulation approach of these 3 embodiments, a specific implementation that performs such a single mapping is described below.

[0172]FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a variable signal mapping LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) coded modulation system that is built in accordance with invention. This embodiment shows how a general implementation may be made for mapping an LDPC block coded modulation signal thereby generating LDPC coded signals having a modulation (constellation and mapping) that may vary as frequently as on a symbol by symbol basis.

[0173] In general, for any modulation, one can select as many as possible constellations and corresponding mappings, to construct an LDPC coded signal having a modulation (constellation and mapping) that may vary as frequently as on a symbol by symbol basis. This diagram illustrates a possible implementation for an m-bit constellation modulation. Moreover, it is also noted that the code can be any one of a variety of block codes.

[0174] In a very general illustration, a plurality of different encoders is employed. A first encoder employs a part 1 of a codeword, a second encoder employs a part 2 of a codeword, . . . , and a final encoder (of the plurality of encoders) employs a part m of a codeword. Those symbols that satisfy a condition 1 are provided to a map I1. Similarly, those symbols that satisfy a condition 2 are provided to a map I2, and those symbols that satisfy a condition N are provided to a map IN. The various conditions employed to govern the direction of which mapping to which the symbols are provided may be selected by a designer implementing the invention.

[0175] The signal sequence generated by this embodiment, or any of the other embodiments for which the decoding approaches of the invention may operate, may be a variable code rate and/or a variable modulation signal. For example, the code rate of the symbols of the signal sequence may vary as frequently as on a symbol by symbol basis. A first symbol may be encoded according to a first code rate, and a second symbol may be encoded according to a second code rate.

[0176] In addition, the modulation of the symbols of the signal sequence may vary as frequently as on a symbol by symbol basis. More specifically, for the variable modulation type signal, either one or both of the constellation or mapping of the symbols of the signal sequence may vary as frequently as on a symbol by symbol basis. As yet another example, multiple symbols of the signal sequence may all be mapped to a similarly shaped constellation, yet various symbols may also have different mappings to the same constellation. As one specific example, two symbols may each be associated with an 8 PSK (8 Phase Shift Key) shaped constellation, yet each of the symbols may be mapped differently within that 8 PSK shaped constellation. Clearly, other types of modulations may also be employed without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

[0177]FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) coded modulation decoding functionality using bit metric according to the invention. To perform decoding of an LDPC coded modulation signal having an m-bit signal sequence, the functionality of this diagram may be employed. After receiving the I, Q (In-phase, Quadrature) values of a signal at the symbol nodes, an m-bit symbol metric computer functional block calculates the corresponding symbol metrics. At the symbol nodes, these symbol metrics are then passed to a symbol node calculator functional block that uses these received symbol metrics to calculate the bit metrics corresponding to those symbols. These bit metrics are then passed to the bit nodes connected to the symbol nodes.

[0178] Thereafter, at the bit nodes, a bit node calculator functional block operates to compute the corresponding soft messages of the bits. Then, in accordance with iterative decoding processing, the bit node calculator functional block receives the edge messages from a check node operator functional block and updates the edge messages with the bit metrics received from the symbol node calculator functional block. These edge messages, after being updated, are then passed to the check node operator functional block.

[0179] At the check nodes, the check node operator functional block then receives these edge messages sent from the bit nodes (from the bit node calculator functional block) and updates them accordingly. These updated edge messages are then passed back to the bit nodes (e.g., to the bit node calculator functional block) where the soft information of the bits is calculated using the bit metrics and the current iteration values of the edge messages. Thereafter, using this just calculated soft information of the bits (shown as the soft message), the bit node calculator functional block updates the edge messages using the previous values of the edge messages (from the just previous iteration) and the just calculated soft message. The iterative processing continues between the bit nodes and the check nodes according to the LDPC code bipartite graph that was employed to encode the signal that is being decoded.

[0180] These iterative decoding processing steps, performed by the bit node calculator functional block and the check node operator functional block, are repeated a predetermined number of iterations (e.g., repeated n times, where n is selectable). Alternatively, these iterative decoding processing steps are repeated until the syndromes of the LDPC code are all equal to zero (within a certain degree of precision).

[0181] Soft output information is generated within the bit node calculator functional block during each of the decoding iterations. In this embodiment, this soft output may be provided to a hard limiter where hard decisions may be made, and that hard information may be provided to a syndrome calculator to determined whether the syndromes of the LDPC code are all equal to zero (within a certain degree of precision). That is to say, the syndrome calculator determines whether each syndrome associated with the LDPC code is substantially equal to zero as defined by some predetermined degree of precision. For example, when a syndrome has a mathematically non-zero value that is less than some threshold as defined by the predetermined degree of precision, then that syndrome is deemed to be substantially equal to zero. When a syndrome has a mathematically non-zero value that is greater than the threshold as defined by the predetermined degree of precision, then that syndrome is deemed to be substantially not equal to zero.

[0182] When the syndromes are not substantially equal to zero, the iterative decoding processing continues again by appropriately updating and passing the edge messages between the bit node calculator functional block and the check node operator functional block.

[0183] After all of these iterative decoding processing steps have been performed, then the best estimates of the bits are output based on the bit soft information. In the approach of this embodiment, the bit metric values that are calculated by the symbol node calculator functional block are fixed values and used repeatedly in updating the bit node values.

[0184]FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an alternative embodiment of LDPC coded modulation decoding functionality using bit metric according to the invention (when performing n number of iterations). This embodiment shows how the iterative decoding processing may be performed when a predetermined number of decoding iterations, shown as n, is performed. If the number of decoding iterations is known beforehand, as in a predetermined number of decoding iterations embodiment, then the bit node calculator functional block may perform the updating of its corresponding edge messages using the bit metrics themselves (and not the soft information of the bits as shown in the previous embodiment and described above). This processing may be performed in all but the last decoding iteration (e.g., for iterations 1 through n−1). However, during the last iteration, the bit node calculator functional block calculated the soft information of the bits (shown as soft output). The soft output is then provided to a hard limiter where hard decisions may be made of the bits. The syndromes need not be calculated in this embodiment since only a predetermined number of decoding iterations are being performed.

[0185]FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating an alternative embodiment of LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) coded modulation decoding functionality using bit metric (with bit metric updating) according to the invention. To perform decoding of an LDPC coded modulation signal having an m-bit signal sequence, the functionality of this diagram may be employed. After receiving the I, Q (In-phase, Quadrature) values of a signal at the symbol nodes, an m-bit symbol metric computer functional block calculates the corresponding symbol metrics. At the symbol nodes, these symbol metrics are then passed to a symbol node calculator functional block that uses these received symbol metrics to calculate the bit metrics corresponding to those symbols. These bit metrics are then passed to the bit nodes connected to the symbol nodes. The symbol node calculator functional block is also operable to perform bit metric updating during subsequent decoding iterations.

[0186] Thereafter, at the bit nodes, a bit node calculator functional block operates to compute the corresponding soft messages of the bits. Then, in accordance with iterative decoding processing, the bit node calculator functional block receives the edge messages from a check node operator functional block and updates the edge messages with the bit metrics received from the symbol node calculator functional block. This updating of the edge messages may be performed using the updated bit metrics during subsequent iterations. These edge messages, after being updated, are then passed to the check node operator functional block.

[0187] At the check nodes, the check node operator functional block then receives these edge messages sent from the bit nodes (from the bit node calculator functional block) and updates them accordingly. These updated edge messages are then passed back to the bit nodes (e.g., to the bit node calculator functional block) where the soft information of the bits is calculated using the bit metrics and the current iteration values of the edge messages. Thereafter, using this just calculated soft information of the bits (shown as the soft message), the bit node calculator functional block updates the edge messages using the previous values of the edge messages (from the just previous iteration) and the just calculated soft message. At the same time, as the just calculated soft information of the bits (shown as the soft message) has been calculated, this information may be passed back to the symbol nodes (e.g., to the symbol node calculator functional block) for updating of the bit metrics employed within subsequent decoding iterations. The iterative processing continues between the bit nodes and the check nodes according to the LDPC code bipartite graph that was employed to encode the signal that is being decoded (by also employing the updated bit metrics during subsequent decoding iterations).

[0188] These iterative decoding processing steps, performed by the bit node calculator functional block and the check node operator functional block, are repeated a predetermined number of iterations (e.g., repeated n times, where n is selectable). Alternatively, these iterative decoding processing steps are repeated until the syndromes of the LDPC code are all equal to zero (within a certain degree of precision).

[0189] Soft output information is generated within the bit node calculator functional block during each of the decoding iterations. In this embodiment, this soft output may be provided to a hard limiter where hard decisions may be made, and that hard information may be provided to a syndrome calculator to determined whether the syndromes of the LDPC code are all equal to zero (within a certain degree of precision). When they are not, the iterative decoding processing continues again by appropriately updating and passing the edge messages between the bit node calculator functional block and the check node operator functional block.

[0190] After all of these iterative decoding processing steps have been performed, then the best estimates of the bits are output based on the bit soft information. In the approach of this embodiment, the bit metric values that are calculated by the symbol node calculator functional block are fixed values and used repeatedly in updating the bit node values.

[0191]FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating an alternative embodiment of LDPC coded modulation decoding functionality using bit metric (with bit metric updating) according to the invention (when performing n number of iterations). This embodiment shows how the iterative decoding processing may be performed when a predetermined number of decoding iterations, shown as n, is performed (again, when employing bit metric updating). If the number of decoding iterations is known beforehand, as in a predetermined number of decoding iterations embodiment, then the bit node calculator functional block may perform the updating of its corresponding edge messages using the bit metrics/updated bit metrics themselves (and not the soft information of the bits as shown in the previous embodiment and described above). This processing may be performed in all but the last decoding iteration (e.g., for iterations 1 through n−1). However, during the last iteration, the bit node calculator functional block calculated the soft information of the bits (shown as soft output). The soft output is then provided to a hard limiter where hard decisions may be made of the bits. The syndromes need not be calculated in this embodiment since only a predetermined number of decoding iterations are being performed.

[0192]FIG. 23A is a diagram illustrating bit decoding using bit metric (shown with respect to an LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) code bipartite graph) according to the invention. Generally speaking, after receiving I, Q values of a signal at a symbol nodes, the m-bit symbol metrics are computed. Then, at the symbol nodes, the symbol metric is used to calculate the bit metric. The bit metric is then passed to the bit nodes connected to the symbol nodes. At the bit nodes, the soft messages of the bits are computed, and they are used to update the edge message sent from the check nodes with the bit metric. These edge messages are then passed to the check nodes. At the check nodes, updating of the edge messages sent from the bit nodes is performed, and these values are pass back the bit nodes.

[0193] As also described above with respect to the corresponding functionality embodiment, after all of these iterative decoding processing steps have been performed, then the best estimates of the bits are output based on the bit soft information. In the approach of this embodiment, the bit metric values that are calculated by the symbol node calculator functional block are fixed values and used repeatedly in updating the bit node values.

[0194]FIG. 23B is a diagram illustrating bit decoding using bit metric updating (shown with respect to an LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) code bipartite graph) according to the invention. With respect to this LDPC code bipartite graph that performs bit metric updating, the decoding processing may be performed as follows:

[0195] After receiving the I, Q value of the signal at the symbol nodes, the m-bit symbol metrics are computed. Then, at the symbol nodes, the symbol metrics are used to calculate the bit metrics. These values are then passed to the bit nodes connected to the symbol nodes. At the bit nodes, the edge message sent from the check nodes are updated with the bit metrics, and these edge messages are passed to the check nodes. In addition, at the same time the soft bit information is updated and passed back to the symbol nodes. At the symbol nodes, the bit metrics are updated with the soft bit information sent from the bit nodes, and these values are passed back to the variable nodes. At the check nodes, the edge information sent from the bit nodes is updated, and this information is passed back to the bit nodes.

[0196] As also described above with respect to the corresponding functionality embodiment, after all of these iterative decoding processing steps have been performed, then the best estimates of the bits are output based on the bit soft information. Again, it is shown in this embodiment that the bit metric values are not fixed; they are updated for use within subsequent decoding iterations. This is again in contradistinction to the embodiment described above where the bit metric values that are calculated only once and remain fixed values for all of the decoding iterations.

[0197]FIG. 24A is a diagram illustrating an LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) coded modulation tripartite graph with symbol nodes connected to bit nodes according to the invention. In this embodiment, it can be seen that the bit nodes are connected to the symbol nodes. The appropriately corresponding bit nodes are also connected to the check nodes according to the LDPC code being employed. However, it is noted that the symbols to be decoded are solely determined by the bits connected to the corresponding symbol. This property is capitalized upon such that the bit nodes may be removed from the LDPC tripartite graph, so that the symbol nodes may be directly connected to the check nodes thereby generating an LDPC coded modulation bipartite graph.

[0198] As one example, 3 symbol nodes, s₀,s₁,s₂, are connected to the 9 bit nodes, b₀,b₁,b₂, . . . , b₈, according to the following mapping:

s ₀⇄(b ₀ ,b ₃ ,b ₆)

s ₁⇄(b ₁ ,b ₄ ,b ₇)

s ₂⇄(b ₂ ,b ₅ ,b ₈)  (EQ 1)

[0199] The connections between the 9 bit nodes, b₀,b₁,b₂, . . . ,b₈, and the 3 check nodes, c₀,c₁,c₂, are made according to the following mapping:

b ₀⇄(c ₀ ,c ₂)

b ₁⇄(c ₀ ,c ₁)

b ₂⇄(c ₁ ,c ₂)

b ₃⇄(c ₀ ,c ₁)

b ₄⇄(c ₁ ,c ₂)

b ₅⇄(c ₀ ,c ₂)

b ₆⇄(c ₀ ,c ₁)

b ₇⇄(c ₁ ,c ₁)

b ₈⇄(c ₀ ,c ₁)

[0200]FIG. 24B is a diagram illustrating an LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) coded modulation bipartite graph (or symbol bipartite graph) with symbol nodes connected directly to check nodes according to the invention (this bipartite graph is generated from the tripartite graph shown in FIG. 24A). One aspect of the invention is the ability to reduce the number of nodes within an LDPC bipartite graph by directly connecting the symbols nodes to the check nodes (e.g., by modifying an LDPC coded modulation tripartite graph to generate an LDPC coded modulation bipartite graph). However, this must be performed very carefully to ensure proper decoding of such LDPC coded signals. As is described herein, the labeling of the edges connected the symbols nodes to the check nodes needs to be done carefully to ensure proper decoding of symbols.

[0201] Within this LDPC code bipartite graph, the edges are only connected between the symbol nodes and the check nodes. In doing so, every edge connecting the symbol nodes and the check nodes is labeled by a value according to EQ 1 shown above. In some embodiments, these edges are labeled using octal values.

[0202] For example, using an octal labeling approach, the edge connecting the symbol node s₀ to the check node c₀, depicted as (s₀,c₀), is labeled as 7 since all three bits b₀,b₃,b₆ are connected to c₀ (e.g., labeled as 7 because b₀,b₃,b₆=111). Similarly, the edge connecting the symbol node s₀ to the check node c₁, depicted as (s₀,c₁), is labeled as 6 since only the two bits b₀,b₃ are connected to c₁ (e.g., labeled as 6 because b₀,b₃,b₆=110). As another example, the edge connecting the symbol node s₀ to the check node c₂, depicted as (s₀,c₂), is labeled as 1 since only the one bit b₀ is connected to c₂ (e.g., labeled as 1 because b₀,b₃,b₆=100). The additional edges that communicatively couple the symbols nodes to the check nodes may also be labeled according to this convention.

[0203] One of the advantages of the symbol node to check node LDPC code bipartite graph is that a decoder may use symbol metrics when performing the decoding processing of the LDPC coded symbols instead of bit metrics. In this way of performing the decoding processing, there is therefore no need to perform metric updating; the metric updating within the decoding processing -may have the undesirable effect of requiring an increased amount of memory to be used. Moreover, the decoding based on the LDPC code bipartite graph (sometimes referred to as a symbol LDPC code bipartite graph) actually out-performs decoding processing that is based on an LDPC code tripartite graph (whose bit nodes are connected to check nodes). In addition, the LDPC symbol decoding provides comparable or better performance of LDPC bit decoding that involves updating of the bit metrics.

[0204]FIG. 25A is a diagram illustrating symbol decoding (shown with respect to an LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) coded modulation bipartite graph) according to the invention. The symbol decoding processing performed according to the invention may be performed using an LDPC coded modulation bipartite graph in which the symbol nodes are connected directly to the check nodes. In general, the I, Q values of a symbol are provided to the symbol nodes, and the iterative decoding processing is performed according to the manner in which the labeled edges communicatively couple the symbol nodes to the check nodes.

[0205] As an example of how the decoding processing may be performed using such an LDPC coded modulation bipartite graph, a rate 2/3 LDPC code with an 8 PSK (8 Phase Shift Key) modulation signal is decoded and explained in detail. This LDPC code may be a regular LDPC code or an irregular LDPC code without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The block length of the LDPC code is 3N and a 3 bit symbol s_(i) is mapped (e.g., using a symbol mapper) according to the following notation:

s _(i)=(b _(i) ,b _(N+i) ,b _(2N+i))

[0206] The parity check matrix of the LDPC code may be represented as [h_(ij)]_(N×3N). The estimated symbols r_(i) corresponding to the 3 bit symbol s_(i) may be represented as r_(i)=(r_(0i),r_(1i),r_(2i)). The partial syndromes S^(m)(i) and S_(m)(i) (which may generally be referred to as syndromes, as they are up above in other embodiments) that are calculated using the estimated symbols and the parity check matrix of the LDPC code may be represented as follows: $\begin{matrix} \begin{matrix} {{S^{m}(i)} = {\sum\limits_{j = 0}^{m - 1}\left( {{r_{0j}h_{ij}} + {r_{1j}h_{i{({N + j})}}} + {r_{2j}h_{i{({{2N} + j})}}}} \right)}} \\ {{S_{m}(i)} = {\sum\limits_{j = m}^{N - 1}\left( {{r_{0j}h_{ij}} + {r_{1j}h_{i{({N + j})}}} + {r_{2j}h_{i{({{2N} + j})}}}} \right)}} \end{matrix} & \left( {{EQ}\quad 2} \right) \end{matrix}$

[0207] The following decoding processing description is described as being performed on a signal sequence Y. The probability of the signal sequence Y satisfying the partial syndrome, p(S^(j)(i)=m|Y), to be equal to A_(i,j)(m) is calculated (e.g., the probability of p(S^(j)(i)=m|Y)=A_(i,j)(m)). In addition, other probabilities are calculated; namely, the probability of the signal sequence Y satisfying the partial syndrome, p(S_(j)(i)=m|Y), to be equal to B_(i,j)(m) is calculated (e.g., the probability of p(S_(j)(i)=m|Y)=B_(i,j)(m)). These probabilities are all calculated based on the following conditions:

A _(i,0)(0)=1

B _(i,deg(c) _(i) ⁾⁻¹(0)=1, and

A _(i,0)(m)=0

B _(i,deg(c) _(i) ⁾⁻¹(m)=0, where m≠0.

[0208] Since the decoding may be performed in the logarithmic domain thereby enabling multiplication operations to be performed using addition and division operations to be performed using subtraction, these variables may be redefined within the logarithmic domain as follows:

α_(i,j)(m)=log(A _(i,j)(m))

β_(i,j)(m)=log(B _(i,j)(m)).

[0209] These values may be referred to as the alphas, or forward metrics, (α_(i,j)(m)) and betas, or backward metrics, (β_(i,j)(m)) to be employed within the decoding processing.

[0210] The edge messages being passed from the check nodes to the symbol nodes may be represented as Medge[i][j][k], where i runs according to the appropriately labeled edges within the LDPC coded modulation bipartite graph.

[0211] As some examples:

[0212] 1. if the label is 7, then k runs from 0 to 7,

[0213] 2. if the label is 3, 5, or 6, then k runs from 0 to 3, and

[0214] 3. if the label is 1, 2, or 6, then k runs between 0 to 1.

[0215] In addition, a new function x(v) that varies from {0, . . . ,7} to {0,1} may be employed. The value v may be viewed as being an integer represented in octal. Then, the value of v may be represented as ν=(ν₀,ν₁,ν₂). This new function x(v) may be represented as follows:

x(v)=v ₀ ⊕v ₁ ⊕v ₂  (EQ 3)

[0216] where ⊕ is an exclusive-or function (e.g., binary addition).

[0217] The notation and definitions provided above are also employed to describe the symbol decoding processing in other embodiments whose decoding processing and/or functionality are described in more detail below. More specifically, the embodiments described in more detail below show how the check node updating and symbol sequence estimation, as well as symbol node updating, is performed using these various values.

[0218]FIG. 25B is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of symbol decoding functionality (supported with an LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) coded modulation bipartite graph) according to the invention. This embodiment shows in more detail how the check node updating and symbol sequence estimation, as well as symbol node updating, is performed.

[0219] The decoding processing described in this embodiment may be better understood in the context of the check node updating and symbol sequence estimation, including the symbol node updating, that may be performed within in at least 2 different embodiments that are described herein in accordance with the invention: (1) symbol decoding and (2) hybrid decoding (that performs a combination of bit level and symbol level decoding). One possible embodiment of symbol decoding is described in this diagram (FIG. 25B), and various possible embodiments by which hybrid decoding may be implemented are described below with respect to the remaining diagrams of this disclosure.

[0220] Beginning from the left hand side of the diagram, input information corresponding to the calculated partial syndromes, that also includes the initial values of the alphas (α_(i,j)(m)) and the betas (β_(i,j)(m)) (e.g., forward and backward metrics), are provided to a check node update functional block. Iterative decoding processing is performed within the check node update functional block over the total number of check nodes. For example, M iterations are performs over i (where i varies from 0 to M−1, and where M is the total number of check nodes of the LDPC bipartite graph).

[0221] In doing this iterative decoding processing, the check node updating initially involves calculating the values of the alphas (α_(i,j)(m)) and the betas (β_(i,j)(m)) (beyond merely the initial values that are provided during the initial iteration) for each of the symbols of a received symbol block. This iterative decoding processing in calculating the alphas and betas may be performed using a forward-backward procedure through the received symbol block.

[0222] The calculation of the alphas and betas is described below.

[0223] For j=0 to deg(c_(i))−1 and m=0,1, the forward-backward processing procedure may be employed to calculate the alphas (α_(i,j)(m)) and the betas (β_(i,j)(m)) as follows:

α_(i,j)(m)=min*{Medge[i][j−1][k]+α _(i,j−1)(m⊕x(k))| all possible k}

β_(i,j)(m)=min*{Medge[i][j+1][k]+β _(i,j+1)(m⊕x(k))| all possible k}

[0224] Now that these values of alpha and beta are available for each of the symbols within a received symbol block, the edge messages Medge[i][j][k] (that communicatively couple the symbol nodes to the check nodes) are updated using these calculated alphas and betas values.

[0225] For j=0 to deg(c_(i))−1 and all possible k, the updating of the edge messages Medge[i][j][k] may be performed as follows:

Medge[i][j][k]=min*{└α_(i,j)(0)+β_(i,j)(x(k))┘└α_(i,j)(1)+β_(i,j)(x(k)⊕1)┘}

[0226] The min* processing functionality described herein may be better understood by the following description. The min* processing includes determining a minimum value from among two values (e.g., shown as min(A,B) in min* processing) as well as determining a logarithmic correction factor (e.g., shown as ln(1+e^(−|A−B|)) in min* processing) in selecting the smaller metric. In addition, it is also noted that max* processing may alternatively be performed in place of min* processing. The max* processing operation also includes a logarithmic correction in selecting the larger metric. It is noted that the various embodiments of the invention may be implemented using the max* operations in lieu of the min* operation when preferred in a given implementation.

[0227] The min* processing, when operating on inputs A and B, may be expressed as follows:

min*(A,B)=min(A,B)−ln(1+e ^(−|A−B|))

[0228] Again, the min* processing may alternatively be performed using max* processing. The max* processing, when operating on inputs A and B, may be expressed as follows:

max*(A,B)=max(A,B)+ln(1+e ^(−|A−B|))

[0229] Moreover, when multiple min* operations are to be performed on multiple values (e.g., more than 2), the min* processing may be expressed as follows:

min*(x ₁ , . . . , x _(N))=min*(min*(x ₁ , . . . , x _(N−1)),x _(N))  (EQ 4)

[0230] After the check node processing has been completed, a symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block operates using the check node update messages to continue the decoding processing.

[0231] Since the total number of edges is the same count from either side (e.g., from either the symbol node side or the check node side), the edges are intrinsically re-ordered according to the symbols that are being decoded. This re-ordering may be intrinsically performed using a LUT (Look-Up Table) to ensure the proper ordering of the check node updating. In other words, the LUT may be implemented to perform the function of which edge information to take when performing the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update. In addition, this re-ordering functionality may be inherently implemented in hardware for proper ordering of the check node updating such that it corresponds to an order that is appropriate to the symbol node updating. For proper decoding of the symbols of the sequence (e.g., first symbol to last symbol), there needs to be some ordering of the symbols. However, this symbol ordering is not critical when performing the check node updating. That is to say, the ordering of the check node updating may then be performed according to any desired ordering, and to ensure proper decoding of the symbols according to the desired order (e.g., first symbol to last symbol), the check node updating is performed to ensure that the edge messages are inherently appropriately ordered according to the desired order for the decoding processing.

[0232] More specifically, this decoding processing may be understood with respect to the edge messages Medge[i][j][k], where i runs across all of the symbol nodes, where j runs according to the degree of the edges from the symbol nodes, and where k runs according to the labels of the LDPC bipartite graph.

[0233] This embodiment described with respect to this diagram is shown with respect to a code that includes 3 bit symbols, coded according to 8 PSK (8 Phase Shift Key) modulation. However, it is noted that such a decoding approach may also be adapted very easily to decoding signals having an even larger number of bits. For example, this decoding approach may be adapted to perform decoding of signals having symbols of higher order modulations including 16 QAM (16 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation), 16 APSK (16 Asymmetric Phase Shift Keying), 64 QAM, and even other modulation types without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

[0234] The label on the j-th edge from the check node i may be denoted as L_(i,j). A new function, sh(L,v), may be defined and employed to assist in the decoding processing describer herein. This new function sh(L,v) may be defined as follows: $\begin{matrix} {{{sh}\left( {L,\left( {v_{0},v_{1},v_{2}} \right)} \right)} = \left\{ \begin{matrix} v_{2} & {L = 1} \\ v_{1} & {L = 2} \\ \left( {v_{1},v_{2}} \right) & {L = 2} \\ v_{0} & {L = 4} \\ \left( {v_{0},v_{2}} \right) & {L = 5} \\ \left( {v_{0},v_{1}} \right) & {L = 6} \\ \left( {v_{0},v_{1},v_{2}} \right) & {L = 7} \end{matrix} \right.} & \left( {{EQ}\quad 5} \right) \end{matrix}$

[0235] After the edge messages have been intrinsically and appropriately re-ordered using the approach described above, the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block continues to operate according to the following procedure.

[0236] For m=0, . . . , 7, the possible values for the soft symbol estimates are computed (e.g., the possible values for the soft information of the symbols is calculated) as follows: ${{p_{i}(m)} = {{{Metric}_{i}\lbrack m\rbrack} + {\sum\limits_{j = 0}^{{\deg {(s_{i})}} - 1}\left( {\sum\limits_{{Li}_{j}}^{\quad}{{{{Medge}\lbrack i\rbrack}\lbrack j\rbrack}\left\lbrack {{sh}\left( {L_{i,j},m} \right)} \right\rbrack}} \right)}}},$

[0237] where Metric_(i)[m] is the appropriate symbol metric obtained from the received signal according to its appropriate modulation (constellation and mapping values).

[0238] The symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block continues by estimating the symbols using the soft symbol estimates. More specifically, the estimate of the symbol s_(i) to m is made such that p_(i)(m) is the smallest value selected from among all of the possible values of p_(i)(0),p_(i)(1), . . . , p_(i)(7).

[0239] After the estimate of the symbols is made using the soft symbol estimates, the edge messages are updated within the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block using the older edge messages. More specifically, the edge message are updated as follows:

[0240] The processing may be better understood by considering the edge label L_(i,j),

[0241] 1. if L_(i,j)=7, then for m=0, . . . , 7, Medge[i][j][k]=p_(i)[m]−Medge[i][j][m].

[0242] 2. alternatively, if L_(i,j)=3,5,6, then for m₀,m₁∈{0,1}, then the values of the edge messages may be defined as: ${{{{Medge}\lbrack i\rbrack}\lbrack j\rbrack}\left\lbrack \left( {m_{0},m_{1}} \right) \right\rbrack} = \left\{ \begin{matrix} {{{\min^{*}\left( {{p_{i}\left( {0,m_{0},m_{1}} \right)},{p_{i}\left( {1,m_{0},m_{1}} \right)}} \right)} - {{{{{Medge}\lbrack i\rbrack}\lbrack j\rbrack}\left\lbrack \left( {m_{0},m_{1}} \right) \right\rbrack}\quad L_{i,j}}} = 3} \\ {{{\min^{*}\left( {{p_{i}\left( {m_{0},0,m_{1}} \right)},{p_{i}\left( {m_{0},1,m_{1}} \right)}} \right)} - {{{{{Medge}\lbrack i\rbrack}\lbrack j\rbrack}\left\lbrack \left( {m_{0},m_{1}} \right) \right\rbrack}\quad L_{i,j}}} = 5} \\ {{{\min^{*}\left( {{p_{i}\left( {m_{0},m_{1},0} \right)},{p_{i}\left( {m_{0},m_{1},1} \right)}} \right)} - {{{{{Medge}\lbrack i\rbrack}\lbrack j\rbrack}\left\lbrack \left( {m_{0},m_{1}} \right) \right\rbrack}\quad L_{i,j}}} = 6} \end{matrix} \right.$

[0243] 3. alternatively, if L_(i,j)=1,2,4, then for m=0,1, then the values of the edge messages may be defined as: ${{{{Medge}\lbrack i\rbrack}\lbrack j\rbrack}\left\lbrack (m) \right\rbrack} = \left\{ \begin{matrix} {{{\min^{*}\left\{ {\left. {p_{i}\left( {k_{0},k_{1},m} \right)} \middle| k_{0} \right.,{k_{1}\varepsilon \left\{ {0,1} \right\}}} \right\}} - {{{{{Medge}\lbrack i\rbrack}\lbrack j\rbrack}\lbrack m\rbrack}\quad L_{i,j}}} = 1} \\ {{{\min^{*}\left\{ {\left. {p_{i}\left( {k_{0},m,k_{1}} \right)} \middle| k_{0} \right.,{k_{1}\varepsilon \left\{ {0,1} \right\}}} \right\}} - {{{{{Medge}\lbrack i\rbrack}\lbrack j\rbrack}\lbrack m\rbrack}\quad L_{i,j}}} = 2^{\prime}} \\ {{{\min^{*}\left\{ {\left. {p_{i}\left( {m,k_{0},k_{1}} \right)} \middle| k_{0} \right.,{k_{1}\varepsilon \left\{ {0,1} \right\}}} \right\}} - {{{{{Medge}\lbrack i\rbrack}\lbrack j\rbrack}\lbrack m\rbrack}\quad L_{i,j}}} = 4} \end{matrix} \right.$

[0244] where the right hand side edge of these equations is the old edge message passed from the check node.

[0245] Continuing on with the iterative decoding processing, using the updated edge messages (that are updated either a predetermined number of times and/or until convergence of the edge messages has been met within a certain degree of precision), then the best estimates of the symbols of a received symbol block may be made.

[0246]FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of hybrid decoding functionality (having a reduced complexity when compared to symbol decoding) of LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) coded modulation signals according to the invention. This embodiment showing hybrid decoding processing may be viewed as being a modification (e.g., a departure) of the previous decoding processing approaches described up to now. In general, similar decoding functional blocks are employed within the iterative decoding processes as shown within the symbol decoding embodiments described above, but the manner in which these functional blocks operate is different; these differences provide for a less complex decoding approach, and (as is seen below with respect to comparing the performance of various decoding approaches) the hybrid decoding approach also provides for a significant improvement in performance (e.g., when compared to bit decoding only).

[0247] This hybrid decoding functionality begins by receiving the I, Q values of the received signal. Thereafter, an m-bit symbol metric computer functional block calculates the corresponding symbol metrics using the I, Q values. Also, a functional block performs the LLR (log likelihood ratio) bit edge message initialization for use in the first decoding iteration; this initialization need only be performed once. If desired, this initial LLR bit edge message may be initialized to a value of 0 for the initial iteration (e.g., iteration i=0). From these functional blocks, the symbol metric and the initialized LLR bit edge message are passed to an iterative decoding processing functional block that includes a check node update functional block and a symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block. These initial conditions (or initial values) of the LLR bit edge message and the symbol metric are employed by the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block during a 1^(st) decoding iteration of the iterative decoding processing.

[0248] The check node update functional block operates in a relatively similar manner as the check node operator functional block that is described above with respect to the LDPC coded modulation decoding functionality using bit metric approach (e.g., see FIG. 19). In general, the check node update functional block performs updating of the edge messages received from a symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block. This symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block (of the hybrid decoding approach) differs from the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block (of the symbol decoding approach).

[0249] When performing the update of the edge messages within the check node update functional block, the check node update functional block updates the bit edge messages using the updated bit edge messages passed by the last iteration. During a first decoding iteration, this may include using the initialized values of the bit edge message. However, during the iterative decoding processing, the check node update functional block passed the updated edge messages to the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block.

[0250] Again, it is noted that the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block uses the initial conditions of the LLR bit edge message during its first iteration of the iterative decoding processing. It also uses the initially received symbol metric value during subsequent iterations of the iterative decoding processing. The symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block initially performs computation of the possible soft symbol estimates. Then, the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block uses this information to assist in the updating of the edge messages. More specifically, the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block updates the bit edge messages using the computed symbol metric (from the m-bit symbol metric computer) combined with the bit edge message passed by the last iteration from the check node update functional block. From one perspective, this shows the hybrid decoding functionality such that a combined use of bit level information and symbol level information are both used in a manner that (as is also described below) that provides a significant reduction in complexity and ease of implementation while providing performance that may be as good as the symbol decoding approach in some embodiments. In general, the performance of the hybrid decoding approach is as good as or worse than the symbol decoding approach; however, the hybrid decoding approach may be implemented significantly easier than the symbol decoding approach (e.g., with significantly reduced processing, memory, and memory management resources).

[0251] The iterative decoding processing continues between the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block and the check node update functional block such that the edge messages are continually, successively and alternatively updated in an effort to converge on a final value of the bit edge messages (either after performing a predetermined number of iterations or after a sufficient degree of accuracy is achieved and the bit edge messages have converged on a final value, that meets the sufficient degree of accuracy). The updating is successive and alternative from the perspective that the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block performs an updating, and then the check node update functional block performs an updating, and then the iterative decoding processing continues.

[0252] During a last decoding iteration, the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block may be implemented to perform an estimate of the symbols using the possible soft symbol estimates that have been calculated. This soft symbol estimate is then output from the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block to a hard limiter where hard decisions may be made for the individual bits within the soft symbol estimate. This final output may be viewed as being the individual bit estimates of the bits within the symbol that is being decoded using the hybrid decoding approach. That is to say, the hard limiter makes bit estimates based on the best estimate for each of the symbols such that the bit estimates are hard decisions for each of the individual bits of those respective symbols.

[0253] In one implementation (described here with respect to the FIG. 26), these iterative decoding processing steps, performed by the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block and the check node update functional block, are repeated a predetermined number of iterations (e.g., repeated n times, where n is selectable).

[0254]FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating another embodiment of hybrid decoding functionality (having a reduced complexity when compared to symbol decoding) of LDPC coded modulation signals according to the invention. In this alternative implementation, these iterative decoding processing steps are repeated until the syndromes of the LDPC code are all equal to zero (within a certain degree of precision). As mentioned above, soft symbol estimate is generated within the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block. This soft output information may be provided to a hard limiter where hard decisions may be made, and that hard information may be provided to a syndrome calculator to determined whether the syndromes of the LDPC code are all equal to zero (within a certain degree of precision). When they are not, a syndrome check failed signal may be provided to the iterative decoding processing functional block (and when it is determined that this decoding iteration is not the last decoding iteration), and the iterative decoding processing continues again by appropriately updating and passing the bit edge messages between the check node update functional block and the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block. After all of these iterative decoding processing steps have been performed, then the best estimates of the bits are output based on the soft symbol estimates. It is also noted that some additional decisions and/or operations may be implemented when the situation arises where the syndromes of the LDPC code are not converging substantially to zero (within a certain degree of precision) and yet the last decoding iteration has in fact been performed.

[0255] This functionality diagrams described above with respect to the FIG. 26 and the FIG. 27 show at least two possible ways in which the hybrid decoding approach may be performed to allow for the decoding of LDPC coded signals using both bit level and symbol level information (e.g., thereby being hybrid). Other possible embodiments are also described below to show how this type of hybrid decoding may be performed.

[0256] It is also noted that this functionality (within the FIG. 26 and/or FIG. 27) may be implemented in the logarithmic domain thereby enabling multiplication operations to be performed using addition and division operations to be performed using subtraction. Moreover, many of the calculations may be performed using min* processing as is also described in greater detail below in other of the various embodiments.

[0257]FIG. 28 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a method for hybrid decoding of LDPC coded modulation signals according to the invention. This method begins by inputting/receiving the I, Q (In-phase, Quadrature) values of the received signal. The method then continues by computing the symbol metric of the received signal and initializing the LLR bit edge message with a value of 0 (for the initial hybrid decoding iteration—e.g., i=0).

[0258] The method then continues by performing the check node updating. This check node updating involves updating the bit edge messages passed from the symbol node updating during the last decoding iteration of the iterative decoding processing.

[0259] The method then continues by performing the symbol node updating. This symbol node updating involves computing the possible soft estimates of the symbols of the signal. The symbol node updating also performs updating of the bit edge messages using both the computed symbol metrics and the bit edge messages passed by the last iteration of the iterative decoding processing.

[0260] It is then determined if this is the last decoding iteration to be performed by the hybrid decoding approach. If it is not the last decoding iteration, then the method continues by performing another iteration of the iterative decoding processing (beginning again with the check node updating). The counter of the iterative decoding processing is then incremented (e.g., i=i+1), and the method then performs the next iteration of check node updating. This iterative decoding processing of the check node updating and the symbol node updating being performed successively and alternatively is performed until the last decoding iteration or until a final solution of the bit edge messages has been converged upon to a sufficient degree of precision.

[0261] It is then again determined if this is the last decoding iteration to be performed by the hybrid decoding approach. Once the last decoding iteration is performed, then the method continues by generating bit estimates of the symbol that is being decoded. This may be performed by doing hard limiting of the estimate of the symbol made from the possible soft symbol estimates. The method then continues by outputting the bit estimates that have been made using the soft symbol estimates generating during the last iterative decoding iteration.

[0262]FIG. 29 is a flowchart illustrating an alternative embodiment of a method for hybrid decoding of LDPC coded modulation signals according to the invention. This method is relatively analogous to the method for hybrid decoding of LDPC coded modulation signals that is described above with respect to the FIG. 28 with some differences. The methodology of performing the iterative decoding processing is slightly different than that described in the embodiment of FIG. 28.

[0263] Similar to the embodiment of FIG. 28, this method begins by inputting/receiving the I, Q values of the received signal. The method then continues by computing the symbol metric of the received signal and initializing the LLR bit edge message with a value of 0 (for the initial hybrid decoding iteration—e.g., i=0).

[0264] The method then continues by performing the check node updating. This check node updating involves updating the bit edge messages passed from the symbol node updating during the last decoding iteration of the iterative decoding processing.

[0265] The method then continues by performing the symbol node updating. This symbol node updating involves computing the possible soft estimates of the symbols of the signal. The symbol node updating also performs updating of the bit edge messages using both the computed symbol metrics and the bit edge messages passed by the last iteration of the iterative decoding processing.

[0266] Where this embodiment departs from the embodiment of the FIG. 28 is that the iterative decoding processing involves generating bit estimates during each decoding. For example, this may be performed by doing hard limiting of the estimate of the symbol made from the possible soft symbol estimates. Then, once these hard bit estimates are provided, then the method determines whether the syndromes of the LDPC code are all equal to zero (within a certain degree of precision).

[0267] When the syndromes are not all equal to zero (within a certain degree of precision), the iterative decoding processing continues by then determining if this is the last decoding iteration to be performed by the hybrid decoding approach. If it is not the last decoding iteration, then the method continues by performing another iteration of the iterative decoding processing (beginning again with the check node updating). The counter of the iterative decoding processing is then incremented (e.g., i=i+1), and the method then performs the next iteration of check node updating. This iterative decoding processing of the check node updating and the symbol node updating being performed successively and alternatively (in conjunction with the bit estimating during each iteration along with the syndrome determination) is performed until the syndromes are all zero (within a certain degree of precision), until last decoding iteration, or until a final solution of the bit edge messages has been converged upon to a sufficient degree of precision.

[0268] If, however, the syndromes are all zero (within a certain degree of precision), then the method continues by outputting the bit estimates that have been made using the soft symbol estimates generating during the last iterative decoding iteration. Also, if it determined that this is the last decoding iteration to be performed by the hybrid decoding approach, then the method continues by outputting the bit estimates that have been made using the soft symbol estimates generating during the last iterative decoding iteration.

[0269]FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of update bit message functionality within symbol node update (used within hybrid decoding functionality of LDPC coded modulation signals) according to the invention. From certain perspectives, the following description may be viewed as being within the context of the LDPC coded modulation bipartite graph (or symbol bipartite graph) shown above with respect to the FIG. 24B. For example, the labels (which may be represented as a label binary vector L) of the symbol bipartite graph is related to the number of bit edges in a corresponding LDPC coded modulation tripartite graph (or bit bipartite graph) shown above with respect to the FIG. 24A. For an m-bit coded modulation symbol with a label represented by an m-tuple symbol (or m-tuple binary vector), L=(L_(m−1), . . . , L₀), L_(i)=0,1, then an edge weight function of label edges, W(L), to be the Hamming weight of L. As an example of this, for m=3, the edge weight function of label edges, W(L), may be provided as follows: $\begin{matrix} {{W(L)} = \left\{ \begin{matrix} 1 & {L = {1,\quad 2,\quad 4}} \\ 2 & {L = {3,\quad 5,\quad 6}} \\ 3 & {L = 7} \end{matrix} \right.} & \left( {{EQ}\quad 6} \right) \end{matrix}$

[0270] The following is a description of the updating of the bit edge messages, shown as Medge(e,l) (where e=edge and l=label), and one possible approach for calculating the soft estimates of symbols, p(S), is described below with respect to the FIG. 33. This following description of the updating of the bit edge messages, Medge(e,l), is employed using an m-bit modulation system.

[0271] This update bit edge message functionality is shown by re-iterating the edge definition. An edge, e=(i,j), connects a symbol node i to a check node j and is labeled with label L. The update bit edge message functionality then supports the estimation of a possible partial binary vector u (whose estimation is shown as est[u]).

[0272] For any W(L)-tuple partial binary vector, u, there are 2^(m−W(L)) possible m-tuple binary vectors with u in the positions L, namely, S_(L)(k,u), k=0, . . . , 2^(m−W(L))−1, which is hereinafter referred to as a combined binary vector. The manner in which the combined binary vector, S_(L)(k,u), may be generated in described in greater detail below. Using this combined binary vector, S_(L)(k,u), the estimation, est[u], of the partial binary vector, u, may be performed as follows: $\begin{matrix} {{{est}\lbrack u\rbrack} = {\sum\limits_{k = 0}^{2^{m - {W{(L)}}} - 1}{{p\left\lbrack {S_{L}\left( {k,u} \right)} \right\rbrack}.}}} & \left( {{EQ}\quad 7} \right) \end{matrix}$

[0273] This is the summation of the probabilities of the combined binary vectors, S_(L)(k,u), over k=0, . . . , 2^(m−W(L))−1.

[0274] Since the edge messages passed for subsequent used in check node updating are to be in an “extrinsic” format, the edge messages sent from the check node updating have to be extracted before performing the symbol node updating. To do this, the update bit edge message functionality within the symbol node update employed a functional block that performs the extraction of the edge messages (those sent to the symbol node update from the check node update: these edge messages are depicted as Medge_(c)(e,l)). Since the decoding approach described herein is hybrid in nature, every symbol edge has W(L) bit edge messages, Medge_(c)(e,l), l=0, . . . , W(L)−1, sent to the symbol node update functional block from the check node update functional block; these bit edge messages, Medge_(c)(e,l), are actually ratios of the probabilities. To get back the label probability corresponding to the edges, shown as q_(kl), the following calculations may be performed: $\begin{matrix} \begin{matrix} {{q_{l}(1)} = \frac{1}{\left( {1 + {{Medge}_{c}\left( {e,l} \right)}} \right)}} \\ {{q_{l}(0)} = {{1 - {q_{l}(1)}} = {1 - \frac{1}{\left( {1 + {{Medge}_{c}\left( {e,l} \right)}} \right)}}}} \end{matrix} & \left( {{EQ}\quad 8} \right) \end{matrix}$

[0275] The partial binary vector, u, may be denoted as u=(u_(W(L)−1), . . . , u₀). Using this denotation of the partial binary vector, u, then the computation of the extrinsic information, extrinc[u], of the partial binary vector, u, may be performed as follows: $\begin{matrix} {{{extrinc}\lbrack u\rbrack} = {\frac{{est}\lbrack u\rbrack}{\prod\limits_{l = 0}^{{W{(L)}} - 1}\quad {q_{l}\left( u_{l} \right)}}.}} & \left( {{EQ}\quad 9} \right) \end{matrix}$

[0276] This extrinsic information, extrinc[u], of the partial binary vector, u, is the ratio of the estimation, est[u], of the partial binary vector, u, over the product of terms, q_(l)(u_(l)), which indicates the label probabilities indexed by the elements of the partial binary vector, u, where i ranges from 0 to W(L)−1.

[0277] Now that the extrinsic information, extrinc[u], of the partial binary vector, U, has been extracted, the update bit edge message functionality employs an update of edge message functional block to update the bit edge messages within the symbol node update functional block; the bit edge messages are now denoted (with respect to the symbol node update functional block) as Medge_(s)(e,l) where the s indicates the edge messages associated with the symbol node update functional block.

[0278] The update of edge message functional block then performs the calculation of possible expanded binary vectors, U(l,k,b). These possible expanded binary vectors, U(l,k,b), are formed by inserting a bit, b, into the various possible bit locations within binary vector. For example, for each of the labels, as directed by l∈{0, . . . , E(L)−1}, there are N (where N=2^(E(L)−1)) possible W(L)-tuple vectors with the bit, b, in the l-th position. These possible expanded binary vectors, U(l,k,b), are indexed by the value of k. The possible expanded binary vectors, U(l,k,b), are calculated for the various inserted bit values of b=1 and b=0 into these various locations (e.g., calculating U(l,k,1) and U(l,k,0)). Then, the extrinsic values, extrinc[U(l,k,1)] and extrinc[U(l,k,0)]; of these possible expanded binary vectors, U(l,k,b), are computed for use in updating the edge message with respect to the symbol node update functional block (e.g., Medge_(s)(e,l)). This new edge message may be calculated as follows: $\begin{matrix} {{{{Medge}_{s}\left( {e,l} \right)} = \frac{\sum\limits_{k = 0}^{N - 1}{{extrinc}\left\lbrack {U\left( {l,k,1} \right)} \right\rbrack}}{\sum\limits_{k = 0}^{N - 1}{{extrinc}\left\lbrack {U\left( {l,k,0} \right)} \right\rbrack}}},{l = 0},\ldots \quad,{{W(L)} - 1.}} & \left( {{EQ}\quad 10} \right) \end{matrix}$

[0279] As mentioned above, this decoding processing may be implemented in the logarithmic domain thereby enabling multiplication operations to be performed using addition and division operations to be performed using subtraction. The use of min* processing may also be employed.

[0280] In the logarithmic domain, the calculation of the estimation, est[u], of the partial binary vector, u, may be performed as follows:

est[u]=min*{p[S(k,u)]|k=0, . . . , 2^(m−W(L))−1}.  (EQ 11)

[0281] The min* processing functionality is described in greater detail above with respect to EQ 4.

[0282] In the logarithmic domain, the label probability corresponding to the edges, shown as q_(l), the following calculations may be performed:

q _(l)(1)=−ln(1+exp(Medge_(c)(e,l)))

q _(l)(0)=Medge_(c)(e,l)−q _(l)(1)  (EQ 12)

[0283] Also in the logarithmic domain, the computation of the extrinsic information, extrinc[u], of the partial binary vector, u, may be performed as follows: $\begin{matrix} {{{extrinc}\lbrack u\rbrack} = {{{est}\lbrack u\rbrack} - {\left( {\sum\limits_{l = 0}^{{W{(L)}} - 1}{q_{l}\left( u_{l} \right)}} \right).}}} & \left( {{EQ}\quad 13} \right) \end{matrix}$

[0284] When the value of i=0 (e.g., the initial iteration), the initialization of ${\sum\limits_{l = 0}^{{W{(L)}} - 1}{q_{l}\left( u_{l} \right)}} = 1$

[0285] may be made.

[0286] Also in the logarithmic domain, the new edge message may be calculated as follows (using both min* processing and the extrinsic calculation function):

Medge_(s)(e,l)=(min*{extrinc[U(l,k,1)]|k=0, . . . , N−1})

−min*{extrinc[U(l,k,0)]|k=0, . . . , N−1}.  (EQ 14)

[0287] By allowing for the hybrid decoding processing to be performed in the logarithmic domain, there is afforded a significant ease of implementation when compared to performing all of the multiplications and divisions required when not operating in the logarithmic domain.

[0288] In the following 2 diagrams, possible approaches to performing generation of the combined binary vector, S_(L)(k,u), and the possible expanded binary vectors, U(l,k,b), are presented.

[0289]FIG. 31 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of combined binary vector generation according to the invention. As mentioned previously, a label in the LDPC coded modulation bipartite graph (or symbol bipartite graph) (as shown in the FIG. 24B) can be considered as an m-bit binary vector, namely L=(L_(m−1), . . . , L₀), which has a Hamming weight W(L). This indicates that in the vector, L, there are m−W(L) positions having the value of 0. This combined binary vector generation then uses the definition of the zero, Z(L), and non-zero, NZ(L), position vectors.

[0290] The zero position vector, Z(L), may be defined as follows:

Z(L)=(Z _(m−W(L)−1) , . . . , Z ₀),  (EQ 15)

[0291] where L_(Z) _(i) is zero in L and Z_(i)<Z_(j) if i<j.

[0292] Similarly, the non-zero position vector, NZ(L), may be defined as follows:

NZ(L)=(NZ _(W(L)−1) , . . . , NZ ₀),  (EQ 16)

[0293] where NZ_(i)<NZ_(j) if i<j.

[0294] For every possible W(L)-tuple partial binary vector, u, and every possible m−W(L)-tuple remaining binary vector k, the combined binary vector, S_(L)(k,u), is defined to be an m-tuple vector (S_(m), . . . , S₀) such that:

partial binary vector u: u=(S _(NZ) _(W(L)−1) , . . . , S _(NZ) ₀ )  (EQ 17A)

remaining binary vector k: k=(S _(Z) _(m−W(L)−1) , . . . , S _(Z) ₀ )  (EQ 17B)

[0295] As an example of how the combined binary vector, S_(L)(k,u), may be formed using the partial binary vector, u, and the remaining binary vector, k, the following is provided for when m=3.

for m=3, partial binary vector u: u=(u _(W) _((L)−1) , . . . , u ₀)  (EQ 18A)

for m=3, remaining binary vector k: k=(k _(3−W(L)−1) , . . . , k ₀)  (EQ 18B)

[0296] The combined binary vector, S_(L)(k,u), for m=3, is then formed as follows: $\begin{matrix} {{S_{L}\left( {k,u} \right)} = \left\{ \begin{matrix} \left( {k_{1},k_{0},u_{0}} \right) & {L = 1} \\ \left( {k_{1},u_{0},k_{0}} \right) & {L = 2} \\ \left( {k_{0},u_{1},u_{0}} \right) & {L = 3} \\ \left( {u_{0},k_{1},k_{0}} \right) & {L = 4} \\ \left( {u_{1},k_{0},u_{0}} \right) & {L = 5} \\ \left( {u_{1},u_{0},k_{0}} \right) & {L = 6} \\ \left( {u_{2},u_{1},u_{0}} \right) & {L = 7} \end{matrix} \right.} & \left( {{EQ}\quad 19} \right) \end{matrix}$

[0297] In general, the combined binary vector, S_(L)(k,u), is formed using the partial binary vector, u, for the first portion of the binary vector and using the remaining binary vector, k, for the rest of the binary vector. However, care must be taken when forming the combined binary vector, S_(L)(k,u). It is not a simple matter of placing the partial binary vector, u, adjacent to the remaining binary vector, k, to form the combined binary vector, S_(L)(k,u). When considering the example shown above where m=3, it can be seen that the manner in which the partial binary vector, u, and the remaining binary vector, k, are combined to form the combined binary vector, S_(L)(k,u), depends on the value of L that thereby dictates which elements of the partial binary vector, u, and the remaining binary vector, k, are used to form the combined binary vector, S_(L)(k,u).

[0298]FIG. 32 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of expanded binary vector generation according to the invention. The expanded binary vectors, U(l,k,b), are employed for subsequent use in calculating the extrinsic values, extrinc[U(l,k,1)] and extrinc[U(l,k,0)], of these possible expanded binary vectors, U(l,k,b). As a reminder, such values are then used in updating the edge message with respect to the symbol node update functional block (e.g., Medge_(s)(e,l)).

[0299] For any given bit, b, and any number, k (where k∈{0, . . . , 2^(W(L)−1)−1}, which may alternatively be represented as (k_(W(L)−2), . . . , k₀)), then the W(L)-tuple vector forming an expanded binary vector, U(l,k,b), is defined to be a binary vector with the bit, b, in the position l and (k_(l−2), . . . , k₀) in the first l−2 position and (k_(W(L)−2), . . . , k_(l−1)) in the last W(L)−l position. It is also noted that when W(L)=1, there is only one expanded binary vector, U(l,k,b), such that l and k are 0; in other words, there is only one expanded binary vector, U(l,k,b), that is U(0,0,b).

[0300] As an example to illustrate this property, the following is provided for when Hamming weight W(L)−1. For any bit, b, and any number k (where k=(k₁,k₀)) there are 3 vectors that may be represented as follows:

U(0,k,b)=(k ₁ ,k ₀ ,b)

U(1,k,b)=(k ₁ ,b,k ₀)

U(2,k,b)=(b,k ₁ ,k ₀).  (EQ 20)

[0301]FIG. 33 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a method for updating edge messages (within symbol node updating) according to the invention. This diagram shows one possible way in which a method may be implemented to perform the updating of the edge messages; this method shown in this embodiment may be viewed as performing the updating of the edge messages within a method that performs the symbol node updating that is itself a part of a method that performs part of hybrid decoding of LDPC coded modulation signals.

[0302] The method described with respect to this diagram (e.g., updating edge messages (within symbol node updating)) begins by inputting the i-th symbol node and edge message received from check node updating. This check node updating may be is itself a part of a method that performs part of hybrid decoding of LDPC coded modulation signals. This edge message may be represented as Medge_(c)(e,l), where e indicates the edge and l indicates the label associated therewith. Also, this method begins by inputting the soft estimates of the symbols that are being decoded as well.

[0303] The method then continues by computing of the label probabilities, q_(l)[b], and by estimating the partial binary vector, u, thereby calculating the estimation, est[u]. These two operations may be performed in parallel, if desired, in certain embodiments. The label probabilities, q_(l)[b], are calculated for the inserted bit value of both 1 and 0 (e.g., q_(l)[1] and q_(l)[0]).

[0304] The method continues by computing the extrinsic information, extrinc[u], of the partial binary vector, u. Then, the method continues by updating the edge message that is to be sent from the symbol node update to the check node update; this edge message may now be represented as Medge_(s)(e,l).

[0305]FIG. 34 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a method for calculating soft estimates of symbols (within symbol node updating) according to the invention. This embodiment shows one possible method by which calculating of soft estimates of symbols may be performed. This method for calculating soft estimates of symbols may be viewed as being part of a symbol node updating method that it itself part of a method for hybrid decoding of LDPC coded modulation signals. The calculating of the soft estimate of the symbols may be implemented as performing 3 separate operations. These operations may be implemented in parallel, as desired, within a given application.

[0306] The method involves projecting a symbol, S, onto a label binary vector, L. It is noted here that the symbol, S, is not be confused with the combined binary vector combined binary vector, S_(L)(k,u), which is described above with respect to the various embodiments for bit edge message updating functionality and methods.

[0307] Continuing on with the projecting of a symbol, S, onto a label binary vector, L, when considering an m-tuple symbol S (where S=(S_(m−1), . . . , S₀)) and a label binary vector, L, on one edge connecting the symbol node to a check node, that symbol, S, may then be projected to an W(L)-tuple binary vector according to the label. For example, for a label binary vector, L (where L=(L_(m−1), . . . , L₀)), with W(L) non-zero bits at positions k_(W(L)−1), . . . , k₀, then the projection of symbol, S, onto a label binary vector, L, may be represented as follows:

Proj(S,L)=(S _(k) _(W(L)−1) ,S _(k) _(W(L)−2) , . . . , S _(k) ₀ )  (EQ 21)

[0308] The method described in this diagram also involves receiving the symbol metrics, Metric_(i)(S), that correspond to the i-th symbol node. The symbol value, S, runs from all possible m-bit binary vectors that may compose S. For example, this may be viewed as the situation where there are n edges, e₀, . . . , e_(n−1), that connect the symbol node, i, to the check nodes associated with labels, L^({1}), . . . , L^({n−1}). This relationship is also described in a more detail and pictorially in the FIG. 33 below. Based on this relationship between the symbol node and the check nodes connected thereto via the n edges, then the projection of the symbol, S, onto the label binary vector, L, for the v-th edge may be denoted as follows:

Proj(S,L ^({v}))=(S _(W(L) _(^({v})) ⁾⁻¹ ^({v}) ,S _(W(L) _(^({v})) ⁾⁻² ^({v}) , . . . , S ₀ ^({v}))  (EQ 22)

[0309] The method described in this diagram also involves receiving an edge message, Medge_(c)(e,l), from the check node updating. Once this edge message, Medge_(c)(e,l), has been received, then the method involves obtaining the label probabilities, q_(l) ^({v}), there from. Again, v is to the number corresponding to the edge of concern, and l corresponds to the label.

[0310] Once all of these values have been obtained, then the method described in this diagram may operate to perform the calculating of the soft estimates of the symbols for the i-th node. The method employs all of the above-mentioned elements when calculating the soft estimates of the symbols described here. As can be seen below, the soft estimates of the symbols is calculated using the received symbol metric corresponding to the i-th symbol node (e.g., Metric_(i)(S)), the individual elements of the projection (Proj(S,L^({v}))) of the symbol, S, onto the label binary vector, L (e.g., individual elements represented as S_(l) ^({v})), and the obtained label probabilities, q_(l) ^({v}) (which will be one of two possible obtained label probabilities q_(l) ^({v})(0) and q_(l) ^({v})(1)).

[0311] Mathematically, the operation of calculating of the soft estimates of the symbols, p_(i)(S), for the i-th node may be represented as follows: $\begin{matrix} {{p_{i}(S)} = {{{Metric}_{i}(S)} + {\sum\limits_{v = 0}^{n - 1}\left( {\sum\limits_{I = 0}^{{W{(L^{\{ v\}})}} - 1}{q_{I}^{\{ v\}}\left( S_{I}^{\{ v\}} \right)}} \right)}}} & \left( {{EQ}\quad 23} \right) \end{matrix}$

[0312] Again, it is noted that S_(l) ^({v}) represents the individual elements of the vector that is the projection of the symbol, S, onto the v-th edge that connects the symbol node i to the check node j and that is the associated the label l.

[0313] It is also noted that the method described above with respect to the FIG. 33 and the FIG. 34 may also be performed within the log domain; in doing so, they may employ min* processing for many of the various calculations employed within such operations as well.

[0314]FIG. 35 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of projection of a symbol onto a label binary vector according to the invention. This diagram pictorially shows how the received symbol metric corresponding to the i-th symbol node (e.g., Metric_(i)(S)), includes n edges that connect to the check nodes. The n edges, e₀, . . . , e_(n−1), are each associated with a particular element of the label binary vector, L. For example, an edge, e₀, may associated with a label element of the label binary vector, L, that is represented as L^({0})). Analogously, an edge, e₃, may associated with a label element of the label binary vector, L, that is represented as L^({3})).

[0315] The performances of various decoding approaches of a received symbol block are compared in the following diagram. The following diagram shows the improvement provided by the invention of using the hybrid decoding approach when decoding LDPC coded signals. This performance diagram is described in the context of BER (Bit Error Rate) versus E_(b)/N_(o) (ratio of energy per bit E_(b) to the Spectral Noise Density N_(o)). This term E_(b)/N_(o) is the measure of SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio) for a digital communication system. When looking at these performance curves, the BER may be determined for any given E_(b)/N_(o) (or SNR) thereby providing a relatively concise representation of the performance of the decoding approach.

[0316]FIG. 36 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of performance comparison of decoding of LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) coded modulation signals using bit decoding (with update metric), symbol decoding, bit decoding only, and hybrid decoding according to the invention. As can be seen within this comparative performance diagram, for a variety of values of E_(b)/N_(o) (or SNR), the BER that may be achieved when employing hybrid decoding of LDPC coded modulation signals may be significantly lower than when performing other approaches of decoding LDPC coded modulation signals. More specifically, the performance of the hybrid decoding of LDPC coded modulation signals is typically better than decoding approaches performing bit decoding only or bit decoding in accompany with bit metric updating. However, the hybrid decoding approach does not out-perform the symbol decoding approach. In general, the performance of the hybrid decoding approach is as good as or worse than the symbol decoding approach. In other words, the best performance than can be expected for the hybrid decoding approach would be to match the performance of the symbol decoding approach.

[0317] Four different decoding approaches are compared when decoding LDPC coded modulation signals. Within this comparison, the block size of the LDPC code is 14400, and the signal is a code rate 2/3 8 PSK (8 Phase Shift Key) LDPC coded modulation signal.

[0318] As one example, the worst performing performance curve corresponds to bit decoding only; when operating at an E_(b)/N_(o) of approximately 3.5 dB (decibels), the BER of the bit decoding only approach is approximately 2.5×10⁻⁶.

[0319] The next better performance curve corresponds to performing bit decoding in accompany with bit metric updating; for this decoding approach, when operating at an E_(b)/N_(o) of approximately 3.5 dB, the BER of the bit decoding approach (that also included metric updating) decreases even more to below approximately under 2×10⁻⁷.

[0320] In this performance diagram, the hybrid decoding approach and the symbol decoding approach provided for comparable results. However, it is again noted that the performance of the hybrid decoding approach typically will be only as good as (or worse) than the symbol decoding approach. This embodiment shows the example where the hybrid decoding approach is able to achieve comparable performance as the symbol decoding approach (as can be seen by their respective overlapping data points).

[0321] The next better performance curves correspond to performing symbol decoding and hybrid decoding. As can be seen when comparing these various approaches to performing decoding of LDPC coded modulation signals, the symbol decoding and hybrid decoding approaches may be implemented as to provide for much improved performance.

[0322] As can be seen, an improvement of over approximately two orders of magnitude of performance may be achieved when performing LDPC hybrid decoding or LDPC symbol decoding when compared to just performing bit decoding only (e.g., at an E_(b)/N_(o) of approximately 3.5 dB, bit decoding only provides a BER of approximately 2.5×10⁻⁶ when compared to hybrid decoding or symbol decoding that provide a BER of approximately 1.25×10⁻⁸). Similarly, a significant performance may be achieved when performing LDPC hybrid decoding or symbol decoding when compared to performing bit decoding with update metric as well (e.g., at an E_(b)/N_(o) of approximately 3.5 dB, bit decoding with update metric provides a BER of approximately 2×10⁻⁷ when compared to hybrid decoding or symbol decoding that provide for a BER of approximately 1.25×10⁻⁸ at a comparable E_(b)/N_(o)).

[0323] Various embodiments have been described herein. For example, a novel encoding approach has been shown that includes combining LDPC encoding and modulation encoding that is operable to generate LDPC variable code rate and/or modulation signals. In addition, a novel decoding approach has also been shown where hybrid decoding processing is employed within the iterative decoding processing of LDPC coded signals.

[0324]FIG. 37A is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an interleaver and S/P (Serial to Parallel) transformer as performed within an LDPC-BICM (Low Density Parity Check-Bit Interleaved Coded Modulation) system according to the invention. The interleaver and S/P transformer operates initially by breaking the 43200 LDPC coded bits into three separate parts. The first part contains the first 14400 LDPC coded bits, the second part contains the last 14000 LDPC coded bits, and the third part contains the middle 14400 LDPC coded bits of the total 43200 LDPC coded bits. The output symbols that are extracted there from consist of 3 bits from each of the three different parts. This embodiment shows how a 3 bit symbol may be generated, but symbols having fewer of more bits may also be generated using an analogous approach without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Since the illustrative communication system being used herein is an 8 PSK LDPC-BICM communication system, 3 bit symbols are being generated that will subsequently be symbol mapped according to an appropriate 8 PSK shaped constellation.

[0325]FIG. 37B is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a Gray code map (G-map I) (shown using an 8 PSK (Phase Shift Key) shaped constellation) according to the invention. Each of the constellation points of the 8 PSK shaped constellation is indexed according to its 3 bit symbol value. For example, the constellation points within the 8 PSK shaped constellation are indexed as follows (going counter-clockwise around the constellation):

[0326] The 3 bit symbol 000 is mapped to the 0 constellation point.

[0327] The 3 bit symbol 001 is mapped to the 1 constellation point.

[0328] The 3 bit symbol 101 is mapped to the 2 constellation point.

[0329] The 3 bit symbol 100 is mapped to the 3 constellation point.

[0330] The 3 bit symbol 110 is mapped to the 4 constellation point.

[0331] The 3 bit symbol 111 is mapped to the 5 constellation point.

[0332] The 3 bit symbol 011 is mapped to the 6 constellation point.

[0333] The 3 bit symbol 010 is mapped to the 7 constellation point.

[0334] Again, it is noted that this symbol map is a Gray code map, in that, all 3-bit vectors are arranged such that successive elements differ in exactly one bit, i.e. the Hamming distance d_(H) of the two adjacent elements is one (as also described in more detail above).

[0335]FIG. 38A is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an LDPC-BICM communication system I that performs encoding of an LDPC-BICM signal using a single Gray code map (G-map I) and performs decoding of the LDPC-BICM signal using bit metric only. Within this communication system, an information bit is provided to an LDPC encoder where it is coded to generate a plurality of LDPC coded bits. This plurality of LDPC coded bits is provided to an interleaver and S/P transformer (e.g., as described above with respect to FIG. 37A). The 3 bit symbols that are output from the interleaver and S/P transformer are provided to a symbol mapper that employs a Gray code map (the G-map I presented above with respect to FIG. 37B) to perform symbol mapping of these symbols to the appropriate constellation points included therein. These mapped symbols then appropriately undergo digital to analog conversion and any appropriate channel modulation to transform the mapped symbols into an LDPC-BICM continuous time transmit signal that is appropriate for transmitting across a communication channel.

[0336] The communication channel may be viewed as being an AWGN (Additive White Gaussian Noise) communication channel. This digital to analog conversion and channel modulation may include converting a symbol mapped plurality of discrete valued modulation symbols (e.g., the discrete valued modulation symbols of the LDPC-BICM signal when in a purely digital format) to an actual physical waveform having an amplitude, phase, and frequency. This may also include performing any appropriate filtering of this signal, any frequency shifting (e.g., up-converting to a carrier frequency), or any other modification as to transform the symbol mapped plurality of discrete valued modulation symbols into a continuous-time LDPC-BICM signal that is capable of being launched into the communication channel for transmission to a device on a receive end that is capable of extracting the encoded information bit there from.

[0337] At the other end of the communication channel, the converse operations are initially performed. A received continuous-time LDPC-BICM signal is initially channel demodulated and sampled (e.g., converted from an analog signal to a digital signal). The digital samples are then used to generate a received plurality of discrete-valued modulation symbols, and this received plurality of discrete-valued modulation symbols is appropriately partitioned into a number of symbols blocks that subsequently undergo decoding using a decoding approach that employs bit metric only. These symbols blocks are provided to a bit metric calculator that calculates the bit metrics that are subsequently used to perform the decoding. These bit metrics and the demodulated and mapped symbols are passed through a de-interleaver and ultimately to an iterative LDPC coded decoder that performs decoding to make a best estimate of the information bit originally provided to the LDPC encoder at the other end of the communication channel.

[0338] Various approaches of this LDPC-BICM communication system I can be found within the prior art. However, a more efficient decoding approach may be employed to perform the decoding processing therein than is usually found in the prior art. In theory, the symbol metrics may first be calculated from the received LDPC-BICM signal, and the symbol metrics may then be decomposed there from to generate the bit metrics according to probability theory. In a practical application, these two steps can functionally be performed in one processing step.

[0339]FIG. 38B is a diagram illustrating another embodiment of a Gray code map (G-map II) (shown also using an 8 PSK shaped constellation) according to the invention. This second Gray code map (G-map II) may be used within an LDPC-BICM communication system that performs encoding of an LDPC-BICM signal using 2 Gray code maps. Each of the constellation points of the 8 PSK shaped constellation is indexed according to its 3 bit symbol value. For example, the constellation points within the 8 PSK shaped constellation are indexed as follows (going counter-clockwise around the constellation):

[0340] The 3 bit symbol 000 is mapped to the 0 constellation point.

[0341] The 3 bit symbol 010 is mapped to the 1 constellation point.

[0342] The 3 bit symbol 110 is mapped to the 2 constellation point.

[0343] The 3 bit symbol 100 is mapped to the 3 constellation point.

[0344] The 3 bit symbol 101 is mapped to the 4 constellation point.

[0345] The 3 bit symbol 111 is mapped to the 5 constellation point.

[0346] The 3 bit symbol 011 is mapped to the 6 constellation point.

[0347] The 3 bit symbol 001 is mapped to the 7 constellation point.

[0348] Again, it is noted that this symbol map is a Gray code map, in that, all 3-bit vectors are arranged such that successive elements differ in exactly one bit, i.e. the Hamming distance d_(H) of the two adjacent elements is one (as also described in more detail above).

[0349]FIG. 39A is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an LDPC-BICM communication system II that performs encoding of an LDPC-BICM signal using 2 Gray code maps (G-map I and G-map II) and performs decoding of the LDPC-BICM signal using bit metric only according to the invention. The LDPC-BICM communication system II is a departure from the LDPC-BICM communication system I presented above. The output of the 3 bit symbols from the interleaver and S/P transformer are divided into two separate parts of LDPC coded bits. The first part consists of 4800 symbols having LDPC code bits with degree 9. The rest of the LDPC coded bits form the second part. The symbols within the first part are symbol mapped using the first Gray code map (G-map I) and the symbols of the second part are symbol mapped using the second Gray code map (G-map II). The symbols that have been symbol mapped using these 2 separate Gray code maps (G-map I and G-map II) then undergo any of the appropriate processing to transform them into a continuous-time LDPC-BICM signal that is capable of being launched into the communication channel.

[0350] The receiver end processing, including the decoding approach, which is performed within the LDPC-BICM communication system II is similar to that which is performed within the LDPC-BICM communication system I, in that, the decoding is performed using bit metric only.

[0351] It is noted that the LDPC-BICM communication system II provides for a 0.05 dB gain in performance over the LDPC-BICM communication system I due to the use of the multiple maps (e.g., G-map I and G-map II).

[0352]FIG. 39B is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an LDPC-BICM communication system III that performs encoding of an LDPC-BICM signal using 2 Gray code maps and performs decoding of the LDPC-BICM signal using a hybrid decoding approach according to the invention. The LDPC-BICM communication system III is a modification of the LDPC-BICM communication system II described above. The transmitter ends of the communication channel of these 2 LDPC-BICM communication systems (III and IV) operate similarly, in that, multiple symbol mapping is performed. However, the decoding within the LDPC-BICM communication system III is performed using a hybrid decoding approach as described above; this is in contradistinction to the bit metric decoding performed within the LDPC-BICM communication system II.

[0353] In the LDPC-BICM communication system III, hybrid decoding is applied. This decoding approach needs to modify the LDPC coded modulation tripartite graph with symbol nodes connected to bit nodes (e.g., see FIG. 24A as an example) to generate an appropriate LDPC coded modulation bipartite graph with symbol nodes connected directly to check nodes (e.g., see FIG. 24B as an example). This mapping needs to be performed carefully with the appropriate labeling that may be performed using predetermined tables. When performing hybrid decoding, the iterative hybrid decoder needs both the symbol metric that is provided by a symbol metric calculator and the bit metric as well (e.g., “hybrid” as using both symbol and bit metrics). The decoded symbols, output from the iterative hybrid decoder, are then passed to a de-interleaver from which a best estimate of the information bit originally provided to the LDPC encoder at the other end of the communication channel is output. Two possible embodiments by which the iterative hybrid decoder may be implemented are provided above with respect to FIG. 26 and the FIG. 27.

[0354] It is noted that the LDPC-BICM communication system III outperforms the LDPC-BICM communication system II by approximately 0.05 dB. As such, the LDPC-BICM communication system III can provide a performance improvement of approximately 0.1 dB over the LDPC-BICM communication system I.

[0355] It is noted that each of the LDPC-BICM communication systems described up until now all employ Gray code maps when symbol mapping the symbols generated therein. Various embodiments of non-Gray code mapping are presented below that may alternatively be used to provide for even more improvement in performance.

[0356]FIG. 40A is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a non-Gray code map (NG-map I) (shown also using an 8 PSK shaped constellation) according to the invention. This non-Gray code map (NG-map I) may be used within an LDPC-BICM communication system that performs encoding of an LDPC-BICM signal using 2 separate mappings. In such an LDPC-BICM communication system, a new non-Gray code map is employed as one of the mappings. In some instances, these 2 separate mappings include one Gray code map and one non-Gray code map.

[0357] Each of the constellation points of the 8 PSK shaped constellation is indexed according to its 3 bit symbol value. For example, the constellation points within the 8 PSK shaped constellation are indexed as follows (going counter-clockwise around the constellation):

[0358] The 3 bit symbol 000 is mapped to the 0 constellation point.

[0359] The 3 bit symbol 111 is mapped to the 1 constellation point.

[0360] The 3 bit symbol 110 is mapped to the 2 constellation point.

[0361] The 3 bit symbol 100 is mapped to the 3 constellation point.

[0362] The 3 bit symbol 101 is mapped to the 4 constellation point.

[0363] The 3 bit symbol 001 is mapped to the 5 constellation point.

[0364] The 3 bit symbol 011 is mapped to the 6 constellation point.

[0365] The 3 bit symbol 010 is mapped to the 7 constellation point.

[0366] Again, it is noted that this symbol map is a non-Gray code map, in that, all 3-bit vectors are arranged such that successive elements may differ in a manner that is more than exactly one bit, i.e. the Hamming distance d_(H) of the two adjacent elements is not always one. Since the 3 bit symbols of the two adjacent symbols 0 and 1 differ by 3 bits, this map is not a Gray code map.

[0367]FIG. 40B is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an LDPC-BICM communication system IV that performs encoding of an LDPC-BICM signal using 1 Gray code map (G-map II) and 1 non-Gray code map (NG-map I) and performs decoding of the LDPC-BICM signal using a hybrid decoding approach according to the invention.

[0368] The LDPC-BICM communication system IV is somewhat similar to the LDPC-BICM communication system III except that a non-Gray code map (NG-map I) is used in place of the Gray code map (G-map I) by one of the 2 symbol mappers at the transmitter end of the communication channel. The decoding processing at the receiver end of the communication channel is performed using a hybrid decoding approach as also described above.

[0369] This LDPC-BICM communication system IV shows a communication system that operates by using an LDPC-BICM signal that has been generated using multiple maps (one of which is a Gray code map and one of which is a non-Gray code map). In addition, the decoding of this LDPC-BICM signal (that has non-Gray code mapping) is performed using a hybrid decoding approach.

[0370] By employing this non-Gray code map (NG-map I) in place of the previous Gray code map (G-map I), the LDPC-BICM communication system IV gains another 0.05 dB in performance over the LDPC-BICM communication system III. Therefore, the LDPC-BICM communication system IV outperform the prior art LDPC-BICM communication system I by over 0.15 dB by using the combination of Gray code mapping and non-Gray code mapping.

[0371] When considering the LDPC-BICM communication system IV, it can clearly be seen that there is a performance advantage by using a combination of Gray code mapping and non-Gray code mapping. More specifically, there is clearly a performance advantage of using non-Gray code mapping within an LDPC-BICM communication system. It is again noted that this combination of Gray code mapping and non-Gray code mapping is performed within an LDPC-BICM communication system that performs decoding of the LDPC-BICM signal using a hybrid decoding approach.

[0372] For completeness, a comparison is also made for an LDPC-BICM communication system that employs a combination of Gray code mapping and non-Gray code mapping and that also performs decoding of the LDPC-BICM signal using bit decoding (that uses bit metric only). That is to say, a comparison is performed to see if a combination of Gray code mapping and non-Gray code mapping within an LDPC-BICM communication system that performs bit metric only decoding could provide as good (or nearly as good) a performance improvement as within an LDPC-BICM communication system that employs a hybrid decoding approach on an LDPC-BICM signal having a combination of Gray code mapping and non-Gray code mapping.

[0373]FIG. 41 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an LDPC-BICM communication system V that performs encoding of an LDPC-BICM signal using 1 Gray code map (G-map II) and 1 non-Gray code map (NG-map I) and performs decoding of the LDPC-BICM signal using bit metric only.

[0374] The LDPC-BICM communication system V is somewhat similar to the LDPC-BICM communication system IV except that bit metric only decoding is performed at the receiver end of the communication channel. As within the LDPC-BICM communication system IV, a non-Gray code map (NG-map I) is used in place of the Gray code map (G-map I) by one of the 2 symbol mappers at the transmitter end of the communication channel within the LDPC-BICM communication system V. The decoding processing at the receiver end of the communication channel is performed using bit metric only decoding as described above within other of the appropriate embodiments.

[0375] Surprisingly, the LDPC-BICM communication system V performs very poorly. The performance of the LDPC-BICM communication system V even has a 0.4 dB loss when compared to the performance of the LDPC-BICM communication system I that can be found in various implementations within the prior art.

[0376]FIG. 42 is a diagram illustrating performance comparison of 2 bit/s/Hz embodiments of the LDPC-BICM communication systems I, II, III, IV, and V (results shown after having performed 50 decoding iterations) according to the invention. As within other performance diagrams presented herein, these performance curves are described in the context of BER versus E_(b)/N_(o) (ratio of energy per bit E_(b) to the Spectral Noise Density N_(o)). Again, this term E_(b)/N_(o) is the measure of SNR for a digital communication system. When looking at these performance curves, the BER may be determined for any given E_(b)/N_(o) (or SNR).

[0377] The 5 different LDPC-BICM communication systems I, II, III, IV, and V are all compared when decoding their corresponding LDPC-BICM signals (having either 1 or 2 maps that are either both Gray code maps or a combination of a Gray code map and a non-Gray code map) as described above within their respective embodiments. Within this comparison, the block size of the LDPC code is 43200, and the signal is an irregular code rate 2/3 8 PSK (8 Phase Shift Key) LDPC-BICM signal. This diagram shows the performance curves of the above 5 different LDPC-BICM communication systems I, II, III, IV, and V defined previously and transmitting across an AWGN communication channel. The number of decoding iterations performed within each of the embodiments is the same: 50 decoding iterations.

[0378] As can be seen within this comparison diagram, the best performing LDPC-BICM communication system is the LDPC-BICM communication system IV.

[0379]FIG. 43A is a diagram illustrating another embodiment of a non-Gray code map (NG-map II) (shown also using an 8 PSK shaped constellation) according to the invention. There are many choices that may be made for use of a non-Gray code map within the LDPC-BICM communication system IV. By properly choosing the non-Gray code map, even more improvement in performance may be achieved. For example, by taking an alternative non-Gray code map, as illustrated in this diagram, an additional performance gain of 0.025 dB may be achieved within the LDPC-BICM communication system IV.

[0380] Each of the constellation points of this non-Gray code mapped 8 PSK shaped constellation (referred to as NG-map II) is indexed according to its 3 bit symbol value. For example, the constellation points within the 8 PSK shaped constellation are indexed as follows (going counter-clockwise around the constellation):

[0381] The 3 bit symbol 000 is mapped to the 0 constellation point.

[0382] The 3 bit symbol 010 is mapped to the 1 constellation point.

[0383] The 3 bit symbol 001 is mapped to the 2 constellation point.

[0384] The 3 bit symbol 011 is mapped to the 3 constellation point.

[0385] The 3 bit symbol 110 is mapped to the 4 constellation point.

[0386] The 3 bit symbol 101 is mapped to the 5 constellation point.

[0387] The 3 bit symbol 111 is mapped to the 6 constellation point.

[0388] The 3 bit symbol 100 is mapped to the 7 constellation point.

[0389]FIG. 43B is a diagram illustrating an alternatively embodiment of the LDPC-BICM communication system IV that performs encoding of an LDPC-BICM signal using 1 Gray code map (G-map II) and 1 non-Gray code map (NG-map II) and performs decoding of the LDPC-BICM signal using a hybrid decoding approach according to the invention. This diagram shows an alternative implementation of the LDPC-BICM communication system IV. The symbol mapper that previously used the firstly introduced non-Gray code map (NG-map I) now uses the secondly introduced non-Gray code map (NG-map II). By using this non-Gray code map (NG-map II), a performance gain of 0.025 dB may be achieved. This is shown graphically in the following diagram.

[0390]FIG. 44 is a diagram illustrating performance comparison of two alternative embodiments of 2 bit/s/Hz LDPC-BICM communication systems IV (respectively, using two possible non-Gray code maps (NG-map I and NG-map II)) according to the invention.

[0391]FIG. 45A is a diagram illustrating another embodiment of a non-Gray code map (NG-map III) (shown also using an 8 PSK shaped constellation) according to the invention.

[0392] Again, there are many choices that may be made for use of a non-Gray code map within the LDPC-BICM communication system IV. By properly choosing the non-Gray code map, even more improvement in performance may be achieved. For example, by taking an alternative non-Gray code map, as illustrated in this diagram, an additional performance gain of 0.05 dB may be achieved within the LDPC-BICM communication system IV when using the non-Gray code map (NG-map III) as opposed to the initially found non-Gray code map (NG-map I). This means that a total performance improvement of 0.2 dB may be achieved when operating the LDPC-BICM communication system IV when using the non-Gray code map (NG-map III) as opposed to the conventional, prior art approach to performing bit only decoding of a signal whose symbols have been symbol mapped using only a single Gray code map. That is to say, the combination of using multiple maps (e.g., 1 Gray code map (G-map II) and 1 non-Gray code map (NG-map III)) can provide a performance improvement of approximately 0.2 dB over conventional, prior art approach to performing bit only decoding of a signal whose symbols have been symbol mapped using only a single Gray code map.

[0393] Each of the constellation points of this non-Gray code mapped 8 PSK shaped constellation (referred to as NG-map III) is indexed according to its 3 bit symbol value. For example, the constellation points within the 8 PSK shaped constellation are indexed as follows (going counter-clockwise around the constellation):

[0394] The 3 bit symbol 000 is mapped to the 0 constellation point.

[0395] The 3 bit symbol 010 is mapped to the 1 constellation point.

[0396] The 3 bit symbol 001 is mapped to the 2 constellation point.

[0397] The 3 bit symbol 101 is mapped to the 3 constellation point.

[0398] The 3 bit symbol 111 is mapped to the 4 constellation point.

[0399] The 3 bit symbol 110 is mapped to the 5 constellation point.

[0400] The 3 bit symbol 100 is mapped to the 6 constellation point.

[0401] The 3 bit symbol 011 is mapped to the 7 constellation point.

[0402]FIG. 45B is a diagram illustrating an alternatively embodiment of the LDPC-BICM communication system IV that performs encoding of an LDPC-BICM signal using 1 Gray code map (G-map II) and 1 non-Gray code map (NG-map III) and performs decoding of the LDPC-BICM signal using a hybrid decoding approach according to the invention.

[0403] This diagram shows yet another alternative implementation of the LDPC-BICM communication system IV. The symbol mapper that previously used the firstly introduced non-Gray code map (NG-map I) now uses the thirdly introduced non-Gray code map (NG-map III). By using this non-Gray code map (NG-map III), a performance gain of 0.05 dB may be achieved when compared to the embodiment of the LDPC-BICM communication system IV that uses the firstly introduced non-Gray code map (NG-map I). This particular embodiment of the LDPC-BICM communication system IV is shown graphically in the following diagram.

[0404]FIG. 46 is a diagram illustrating performance comparison of three alternative embodiments of 2 bit/s/Hz LDPC-BICM communication systems IV (respectively using three possible non-Gray code maps (NG-map I, NG-map II, and NG-map III)) according to the invention.

[0405] It is also noted that the various embodiment of LDPC-BICM communication system IV can be generalized to operate using any of a variety of LDPC codes and modulation types having various constellation shapes. For example, various modulations may be employed such as QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shift Key), 16 QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation), 64 QAM, 12 APSK (Asymmetric Phase Shift Keying), and even other modulation types including higher order modulation types. In addition, even more than 2 symbol maps may be employed without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

[0406]FIG. 47 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a method for generating an LDPC-BICM (Low Density Parity Check-Bit Interleaved Coded Modulation) signal having a non-Gray code mapping according to the invention. The method involves receiving one or more information bits. The method then involves encoding the one or more information bits according to an LDPC code thereby generating a plurality of LDPC coded bits. The method then involves interleaving the plurality of LDPC coded bits into a plurality of parts. The method then continues by selecting one bit from each part of the plurality of parts thereby generating a plurality of discrete-valued symbols. In some embodiments, this plurality of discrete-valued symbols includes 3 bit discrete-valued symbols. The method then involves symbol mapping each of the plurality of discrete-valued symbols. This symbol mapping involves symbol mapping some of the discrete-valued symbols using a non-Gray code map, and this symbol mapping involves symbol mapping some of the discrete-valued symbols using a Gray code map.

[0407] Then, the method involves performing digital to analog conversion and channel modulation of the symbol mapped plurality of discrete-valued modulation symbols thereby generating a continuous-time LDPC-BICM transmit signal. The method then involves launching the continuous-time LDPC-BICM transmit signal into a communication channel. This communication channel may be an AWGN communication channel in some embodiments.

[0408]FIG. 48 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a method for hybrid decoding of LDPC-BICM signal having a non-Gray code mapping according to the invention. The method involves receiving a continuous-time LDPC-BICM signal from a communication channel. This communication channel may be an AWGN communication channel in some embodiments. The method then involves performing channel demodulation and analog to digital conversion of the received continuous-time LDPC-BICM signal thereby generating a received plurality of discrete-valued modulation symbols arranged into symbol blocks. The method then involves receiving a symbol block that has some symbols that have been mapped using at least one non-Gray code mapping. Some of the symbols may also have been mapped using a Gray code mapping.

[0409] The method then involves mapping symbols of the symbol block according to code rate and/or modulation. Again, one of the modulations includes at least one constellation having a non-Gray code mapping of the constellation points included therein.

[0410] Thereafter, the method continues by performing iterative hybrid decoding as described above within the appropriate embodiments. This involves initial estimating of the symbols. The method then continues by performing check node updating. Thereafter, the method continues by performing symbol sequence estimating and symbol node updating. After the iterative decoding processing is completed, then the method finishes by outputting best estimates of the bits of the symbols of the received symbol block.

[0411] It is also noted that the methods described within the preceding figures may also be performed within any of the appropriate system and/or apparatus designs (communication systems, communication transmitters, communication receivers, communication transceivers, and/or functionality described therein) that are described above without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

[0412] In view of the above detailed description of the invention and associated drawings, other modifications and variations will now become apparent. It should also be apparent that such other modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A decoder that is operable to perform hybrid decoding of an LDPC-BICM (Low Density Parity Check-Bit Interleaved Coded Modulation) signal that includes at least one symbol that is mapped using a non-Gray code mapping, the decoder comprising: a symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block that receives a plurality of symbol metrics corresponding to a symbol of a plurality of symbols of the LDPC-BICM signal and also receives a plurality of initialized LLR (log likelihood ratio) bit edge messages; wherein the plurality of bit edge messages corresponds to a plurality of edges that communicatively couple a plurality of symbol nodes to a plurality of check nodes within an LDPC coded modulation bipartite graph that corresponds to an LDPC code; wherein the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block computes a first plurality of possible soft symbol estimates for the symbol; wherein the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block updates a plurality of symbol node update bit edge messages using the received plurality of symbol metrics and the plurality of initialized LLR bit edge messages thereby generating a first updated plurality of symbol node update bit edge messages; a check node update functional block that updates a plurality of check node update bit edge messages using the first updated plurality of symbol node update bit edge messages thereby generating a first updated plurality of check node update bit edge messages; wherein the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block computes a second plurality of possible soft symbol estimates for the symbol using the first updated plurality of check node update bit edge messages; wherein the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block updates the first updated plurality of symbol node update bit edge messages using the received plurality of symbol metrics and the first updated plurality of check node update bit edge messages thereby generating a second updated plurality of symbol node update bit edge messages; wherein, during a last iterative decoding iteration, the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block makes a best estimate for the symbol of the plurality of symbols of the LDPC-BICM signal using that symbol's most recent corresponding plurality of possible soft symbol estimates; and a hard limiter makes bit estimates based on the best estimate for the symbol such that the bit estimates are hard decisions for each of the individual bits of the symbol.
 2. The decoder of claim 1, further comprising: a syndrome calculator that determines whether each syndrome of a plurality of syndromes associated with the LDPC code is substantially equal to zero as defined by a predetermined degree of precision during each iterative decoding iteration; and when, during a given iterative decoding iteration, the syndrome calculator determines that each of the syndromes of the plurality of syndromes associated with the LDPC code is substantially equal to zero as defined by the predetermined degree of precision, then the syndrome calculator determines that the given iterative decoding iteration is the last iterative decoding iteration.
 3. The decoder of claim 1, wherein: the updating of the plurality of symbol node update bit edge messages that is performed by the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block is mathematically performed in the logarithmic domain using min* processing.
 4. The decoder of claim 1, wherein: the updating of the plurality of check node update bit edge messages that is performed by the check node update functional block is mathematically performed in the logarithmic domain using min* processing.
 5. The decoder of claim 1, wherein: the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block estimates a partial binary vector selected from a plurality of partial binary vectors by summing over probabilities of a plurality of combined binary vectors; the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block computes a plurality of label probabilities using the first updated plurality of check node update bit edge messages that is provided by the check node update functional block; the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block computes extrinsic information of the selected partial binary vector; the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block calculates a plurality of possible expanded binary vectors for a plurality of possible inserted bit values; the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block computes extrinsic information of the plurality of possible expanded binary vectors for the plurality of possible inserted bit values; and the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block updates the first updated plurality of symbol node update bit edge messages using the computed extrinsic information of the plurality of possible expanded binary vectors for the plurality of possible inserted bit values.
 6. The decoder of claim 5, wherein: each combined binary vectors of the plurality of combined binary vectors is generated using a partial binary vector and a remaining binary vector; the partial binary vector is generated using a non-zero position vector; and the remaining binary vector is generated using a zero position vector.
 7. The decoder of claim 1, wherein: the decoder performs hybrid decoding of an irregular rate 2/3 8 PSK (8 Phase Shift Key) LDPC-BICM signal having a block size of 43200; and when the decoder operates at an E_(b)/N_(o) (ratio of energy per bit E_(b) to the Spectral Noise Density N_(o)) of approximately 3.4 dB (decibels), then the decoder supports a BER (Bit Error Rate) of approximately 1.75×10⁻⁷.
 8. The decoder of claim 1, wherein: the LDPC-BICM signal is a variable modulation signal; a first symbol of the plurality of symbols is mapped according to a first modulation that includes a first constellation whose constellation points are mapped according to a corresponding Gray code mapping; and a second symbol of the plurality of symbols is mapped according to a second modulation that includes a second constellation whose constellation points are mapped according to a corresponding non-Gray code mapping.
 9. The decoder of claim 8, wherein: the first modulation includes an 8 PSK (8 Phase Shift Key) shaped constellation whose constellation points are mapped according to the corresponding Gray code mapping; and the second modulation includes the 8 PSK shaped constellation whose constellation points are mapped according to the corresponding non-Gray code mapping.
 10. The decoder of claim 1, wherein: the LDPC-BICM signal is a variable code rate signal; a first symbol of the plurality of symbols is encoded according to a first code rate; and a second symbol of the plurality of symbols is encoded according to a second code rate.
 11. The decoder of claim 1, wherein: the decoder is implemented within a communication device; and the communication device is implemented within at least one of a satellite communication system, an HDTV (High Definition Television) communication system, a cellular communication system, a microwave communication system, a point-to-point communication system, a uni-directional communication system, a bi-directional communication system, a one to many communication system, a fiber-optic communication system, a WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) communication system, and a DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) communication system.
 12. A decoder that is operable to perform hybrid decoding of an LDPC-BICM (Low Density Parity Check-Bit Interleaved Coded Modulation) signal that includes at least one symbol that is mapped using a non-Gray code mapping, the decoder comprising: a symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block; a check node update functional block that is communicatively coupled to the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block; wherein the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block and the check node update functional block cooperatively perform iterative decoding processing of a symbol of a plurality of symbols of the LDPC-BICM signal by successively and alternatively updating a plurality of bit edge messages; wherein the plurality of bit edge messages corresponds to a plurality of edges that communicatively couple a plurality of symbol nodes to a plurality of check nodes within an LDPC coded modulation bipartite graph that corresponds to an LDPC code; wherein the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block performs updating of the plurality of bit edge messages using a plurality of symbol metrics and the plurality of bit edge messages most recently updated by the check node update functional block; wherein the plurality of symbol metrics correspond to the symbol of the plurality of symbols of the LDPC-BICM signal; and wherein the check node update functional block performs updating of the plurality of bit edge messages using the plurality of bit edge messages most recently updated by the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block.
 13. The decoder of claim 12, wherein: the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block computes a plurality of possible soft symbol estimates for the symbol during each decoding iteration.
 14. The decoder of claim 13, wherein: during a last iterative decoding iteration, the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block makes a best estimate for the symbol using that symbol's most recent corresponding plurality of possible soft symbol estimates; and further comprising: a hard limiter that makes bit estimates based on the best estimate for the symbol such that the bit estimates are hard decisions for each of the individual bits of the symbol.
 15. The decoder of claim 14, further comprising: a syndrome calculator that determines whether each syndrome of a plurality of syndromes associated with the LDPC code is substantially equal to zero as defined by a predetermined degree of precision during each iterative decoding iteration; and when, during a given iterative decoding iteration, the syndrome calculator determines that each of the syndromes of the plurality of syndromes associated with the LDPC code is substantially equal to zero as defined by the predetermined degree of precision, then the syndrome calculator determines that the given iterative decoding iteration is the last iterative decoding iteration.
 16. The decoder of claim 12, wherein: during a first iterative decoding iteration, a symbol metric computer provides the plurality of symbol metrics to the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block; and during the first iterative decoding iteration, an LLR (log likelihood ratio) bit edge message initialization functional block provides a plurality of initialized LLR bit edge messages to the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block.
 17. The decoder of claim 12, wherein: the updating of the plurality of bit edge messages that is performed by the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block is mathematically performed in the logarithmic domain using min* processing.
 18. The decoder of claim 12, wherein: the updating of the plurality of bit edge messages that is performed by the check node update functional block is mathematically performed in the logarithmic domain using min* processing.
 19. The decoder of claim 12, wherein: the decoder performs hybrid decoding of an irregular rate 2/3 8 PSK (8 Phase Shift Key) LDPC-BICM signal having a block size of 43200; and when the decoder operates at an E_(b)/N_(o) (ratio of energy per bit E_(b) to the Spectral Noise Density N_(o)) of approximately 3.4 dB (decibels), then the decoder supports a BER (Bit Error Rate) of approximately 1.75×10⁻⁷.
 20. The decoder of claim 12, wherein: the LDPC-BICM signal is a variable modulation signal; a first symbol of the plurality of symbols is mapped according to a first modulation that includes a first constellation whose constellation points are mapped according to a corresponding Gray code mapping; and a second symbol of the plurality of symbols is mapped according to a second modulation that includes a second constellation whose constellation points are mapped according to a corresponding non-Gray code mapping.
 21. The decoder of claim 20, wherein: the first modulation includes an 8 PSK (8 Phase Shift Key) shaped constellation whose constellation points are mapped according to the corresponding Gray code mapping; and the second modulation includes the 8 PSK shaped constellation whose constellation points are mapped according to the corresponding non-Gray code mapping.
 22. The decoder of claim 12, wherein: the LDPC-BICM signal is a variable code rate signal; a first symbol of the plurality of symbols is encoded according to a first code rate; and a second symbol of the plurality of symbols is encoded according to a second code rate.
 23. The decoder of claim 12, wherein: the decoder is implemented within a communication device; and the communication device is implemented within at least one of a satellite communication system, an HDTV (High Definition Television) communication system, a cellular communication system, a microwave communication system, a point-to-point communication system, a uni-directional communication system, a bi-directional communication system, a one to many communication system, a fiber-optic communication system, a WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) communication system, and a DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) communication system.
 24. A decoding method that performs hybrid decoding of an LDPC-BICM (Low Density Parity Check-Bit Interleaved Coded Modulation) signal that includes at least one symbol that is mapped using a non-Gray code mapping, the method comprising: receiving I, Q (In-phase, Quadrature) values corresponding to a symbol of a plurality of symbols of the LDPC-BICM signal; computing a plurality of symbol metrics corresponding to the symbol; initializing a plurality of initialized LLR (log likelihood ratio) bit edge messages during an initial decoding iteration; performing iterative decoding processing that includes performing symbol node updating and performing check node updating to update a plurality of bit edge messages; wherein the symbol node updating includes: computing a plurality of possible soft symbol estimates for the symbol during each decoding iteration; updating the plurality of bit edge messages using the plurality of symbol metrics corresponding to the symbol and the plurality of bit edge messages most recently updated during check node updating; wherein the check node updating includes: updating the plurality of bit edge messages using a plurality of bit edge messages most recently updated during check node updating; during a last iterative decoding iteration, making a best estimate for the symbol using that symbol's most recent corresponding plurality of possible soft symbol estimates; and making bit estimates based on the best estimate for the symbol such that the bit estimates are hard decisions for each of the individual bits of the symbol.
 25. The method of claim 24, further comprising: determining whether each syndrome of a plurality of syndromes associated with the LDPC code is substantially equal to zero as defined by a predetermined degree of precision during each iterative decoding iteration; and when, during a given iterative decoding iteration, it is determined that each of the syndromes of the plurality of syndromes associated with the LDPC code is substantially equal to zero as defined by the predetermined degree of precision, determining that the given iterative decoding iteration is the last iterative decoding iteration.
 26. The method of claim 24, wherein the updating of the plurality of bit edge messages that is performed by the symbol node updating further comprises: estimating a partial binary vector selected from a plurality of partial binary vectors by summing over probabilities of a plurality of combined binary vectors; computing a plurality of label probabilities using the most recently updated plurality of bit edge messages that is updated by the check node updating; computing extrinsic information of the selected partial binary vector; calculating a plurality of possible expanded binary vectors for a plurality of possible inserted bit values; computing extrinsic information of the plurality of possible expanded binary vectors for the plurality of possible inserted bit values; and updating the plurality of bit edge messages using the computed extrinsic information of the plurality of possible expanded binary vectors for the plurality of possible inserted bit values.
 27. The method of claim 26, further comprising: generating each combined binary vectors of the plurality of combined binary vectors using a partial binary vector and a remaining binary vector; generating the partial binary vector using a non-zero position vector; and generating the remaining binary vector using a zero position vector.
 28. The method of claim 24, wherein: the updating of the plurality of bit edge messages that is performed by the symbol node updating is mathematically performed in the logarithmic domain using min* processing.
 29. The method of claim 24, wherein: the updating of the plurality of bit edge messages that is performed by the check node updating is mathematically performed in the logarithmic domain using min* processing.
 30. The method of claim 24, wherein: the method performs hybrid decoding of an irregular rate 2/3 8 PSK (8 Phase Shift Key) LDPC-BICM signal having a block size of 43200; and when the method operates at an E_(b)/N_(o) (ratio of energy per bit E_(b) to the Spectral Noise Density N_(o)) of approximately 3.4 dB (decibels), then the method supports a BER (Bit Error Rate) of approximately 1.75×10⁻⁷.
 31. The method of claim 24, wherein: the LDPC-BICM signal is a variable modulation signal; a first symbol of the plurality of symbols is mapped according to a first modulation that includes a first constellation whose constellation points are mapped according to a corresponding Gray code mapping; and a second symbol of the plurality of symbols is mapped according to a second modulation that includes a second constellation whose constellation points are mapped according to a corresponding non-Gray code mapping.
 32. The method of claim 31, wherein: the first modulation includes an 8 PSK (8 Phase Shift Key) shaped constellation whose constellation points are mapped according to the corresponding Gray code mapping; and the second modulation includes the 8 PSK shaped constellation whose constellation points are mapped according to the corresponding non-Gray code mapping.
 33. The method of claim 24, wherein: the LDPC-BICM signal is a variable code rate signal; a first symbol of the plurality of symbols is encoded according to a first code rate; and a second symbol of the plurality of symbols is encoded according to a second code rate.
 34. The method of claim 24, wherein: the method is performed within a decoder; the decoder is implemented within a communication device; and the communication device is implemented within at least one of a satellite communication system, an HDTV (High Definition Television) communication system, a cellular communication system, a microwave communication system, a point-to-point communication system, a uni-directional communication system, a bi-directional communication system, a one to many communication system, a fiber-optic communication system, a WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) communication system, and a DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) communication system.
 35. A decoder that is operable to perform hybrid decoding of an LDPC-BICM (Low Density Parity Check-Bit Interleaved Coded Modulation) signal that includes at least one symbol that is mapped using a non-Gray code mapping, the decoder comprising: a symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block; a check node update functional block that is communicatively coupled to the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block; wherein the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block and the check node update functional block cooperatively perform iterative decoding processing of a symbol of a plurality of symbols of the LDPC-BICM signal by successively and alternatively updating a plurality of bit edge messages; wherein the plurality of bit edge messages corresponds to a plurality of edges that communicatively couple a plurality of symbol nodes to a plurality of check nodes within an LDPC coded modulation bipartite graph that corresponds to an LDPC code; wherein the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block performs updating of the plurality of bit edge messages using a plurality of symbol metrics and the plurality of bit edge messages most recently updated by the check node update functional block; wherein the plurality of symbol metrics correspond to the symbol of the plurality of symbols of the LDPC-BICM signal; wherein the check node update functional block performs updating of the plurality of bit edge messages using the plurality of bit edge messages most recently updated by the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block; wherein the LDPC-BICM signal is a variable modulation signal; wherein a first symbol of the plurality of symbols is mapped according to a first modulation that includes an 8 PSK (8 Phase Shift Key) shaped constellation whose constellation points are mapped according to a corresponding Gray code mapping; and a second symbol of the plurality of symbols is mapped according to a second modulation that includes the 8 PSK shaped constellation whose constellation points are mapped according to a corresponding non-Gray code mapping.
 36. The decoder of claim 35, wherein: the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block computes a plurality of possible soft symbol estimates for the symbol during each decoding iteration.
 37. The decoder of claim 36, wherein: during a last iterative decoding iteration, the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block makes a best estimate for the symbol using that symbol's most recent corresponding plurality of possible soft symbol estimates; and further comprising: a hard limiter that makes bit estimates based on the best estimate for the symbol such that the bit estimates are hard decisions for each of the individual bits of the symbol.
 38. The decoder of claim 37, further comprising: a syndrome calculator that determines whether each syndrome of a plurality of syndromes associated with the LDPC code is substantially equal to zero as defined by a predetermined degree of precision during each iterative decoding iteration; and when, during a given iterative decoding iteration, the syndrome calculator determines that each of the syndromes of the plurality of syndromes associated with the LDPC code is substantially equal to zero as defined by the predetermined degree of precision, then the syndrome calculator determines that the given iterative decoding iteration is the last iterative decoding iteration.
 39. The decoder of claim 35, wherein: during a first iterative decoding iteration, a symbol metric computer provides the plurality of symbol metrics to the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block; and during the first iterative decoding iteration, an LLR (log likelihood ratio) bit edge message initialization functional block provides a plurality of initialized LLR bit edge messages to the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block.
 40. The decoder of claim 35, wherein: the updating of the plurality of bit edge messages that is performed by the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block is mathematically performed in the logarithmic domain using min* processing.
 41. The decoder of claim 35, wherein: the updating of the plurality of bit edge messages that is performed by the check node update functional block is mathematically performed in the logarithmic domain using min* processing.
 42. The decoder of claim 35, wherein: the decoder performs hybrid decoding of an irregular rate 2/3 8 PSK (8 Phase Shift Key) LDPC-BICM signal having a block size of 43200; and when the decoder operates at an E_(b)/N_(o) (ratio of energy per bit E_(b) to the Spectral Noise Density N_(o)) of approximately 3.4 dB (decibels), then the decoder supports a BER (Bit Error Rate) of approximately 1.75×10⁻⁷.
 43. The decoder of claim 35, wherein: the LDPC-BICM signal is a variable code rate signal; a first symbol of the plurality of symbols is encoded according to a first code rate; and a second symbol of the plurality of symbols is encoded according to a second code rate.
 44. The decoder of claim 35, wherein: the decoder is implemented within a communication device; and the communication device is implemented within at least one of a satellite communication system, an HDTV (High Definition Television) communication system, a cellular communication system, a microwave communication system, a point-to-point communication system, a uni-directional communication system, a bi-directional communication system, a one to many communication system, a fiber-optic communication system, a WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) communication system, and a DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) communication system.
 45. A decoder that is operable to perform hybrid decoding of an LDPC-BICM (Low Density Parity Check-Bit Interleaved Coded Modulation) signal that includes at least one symbol that is mapped using a non-Gray code mapping.
 46. The decoder of claim 45, further comprising: a symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block; a check node update functional block that is communicatively coupled to the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block; and wherein: the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block and the check node update functional block cooperatively perform iterative decoding processing of a symbol of a plurality of symbols of the LDPC-BICM signal by successively and alternatively updating a plurality of bit edge messages; the plurality of bit edge messages corresponds to a plurality of edges that communicatively couple a plurality of symbol nodes to a plurality of check nodes within an LDPC coded modulation bipartite graph that corresponds to an LDPC code; the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block performs updating of the plurality of bit edge messages using a plurality of symbol metrics and the plurality of bit edge messages most recently updated by the check node update functional block; the plurality of symbol metrics correspond to the symbol of the plurality of symbols of the LDPC-BICM signal; and the check node update functional block performs updating of the plurality of bit edge messages using the plurality of bit edge messages most recently updated by the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block.
 47. The decoder of claim 46, wherein: the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block computes a plurality of possible soft symbol estimates for the symbol during each decoding iteration.
 48. The decoder of claim 47, wherein: during a last iterative decoding iteration, the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block makes a best estimate for the symbol using that symbol's most recent corresponding plurality of possible soft symbol estimates; and further comprising: a hard limiter that makes bit estimates based on the best estimate for the symbol such that the bit estimates are hard decisions for each of the individual bits of the symbol.
 49. The decoder of claim 48, further comprising: a syndrome calculator that determines whether each syndrome of a plurality of syndromes associated with the LDPC code is substantially equal to zero as defined by a predetermined degree of precision during each iterative decoding iteration; and when, during a given iterative decoding iteration, the syndrome calculator determines that each of the syndromes of the plurality of syndromes associated with the LDPC code is substantially equal to zero as defined by the predetermined degree of precision, then the syndrome calculator determines that the given iterative decoding iteration is the last iterative decoding iteration.
 50. The decoder of claim 46, wherein: during a first iterative decoding iteration, a symbol metric computer provides the plurality of symbol metrics to the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block; and during the first iterative decoding iteration, an LLR (log likelihood ratio) bit edge message initialization functional block provides a plurality of initialized LLR bit edge messages to the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block.
 51. The decoder of claim 46, wherein: the updating of the plurality of bit edge messages that is performed by the symbol sequence estimate and symbol node update functional block is mathematically performed in the logarithmic domain using min* processing.
 52. The decoder of claim 46, wherein: the updating of the plurality of bit edge messages that is performed by the check node update functional block is mathematically performed in the logarithmic domain using min* processing.
 53. The decoder of claim 45, wherein: the decoder performs hybrid decoding of an irregular rate 2/3 8 PSK (8 Phase Shift Key) LDPC-BICM signal having a block size of 43200; and when the decoder operates at an E_(b)/N_(o) (ratio of energy per bit E_(b) to the Spectral Noise Density N_(o)) of approximately 3.4 dB (decibels), then the decoder supports a BER (Bit Error Rate) of approximately 1.75×10⁻⁷.
 54. The decoder of claim 45, wherein: the LDPC-BICM signal is a variable modulation signal; a first symbol of the plurality of symbols is mapped according to a first modulation that includes a first constellation whose constellation points are mapped according to a corresponding Gray code mapping; and a second symbol of the plurality of symbols is mapped according to a second modulation that includes a second constellation whose constellation points are mapped according to a corresponding non-Gray code mapping.
 55. The decoder of claim 54, wherein: the first modulation includes an 8 PSK (8 Phase Shift Key) shaped constellation whose constellation points are mapped according to the corresponding Gray code mapping; and the second modulation includes the 8 PSK shaped constellation whose constellation points are mapped according to the corresponding non-Gray code mapping.
 56. The decoder of claim 45, wherein: the LDPC-BICM signal is a variable code rate signal; a first symbol of the plurality of symbols is encoded according to a first code rate; and a second symbol of the plurality of symbols is encoded according to a second code rate.
 57. The decoder of claim 45, wherein: the decoder is implemented within a communication device; and the communication device is implemented within at least one of a satellite communication system, an HDTV (High Definition Television) communication system, a cellular communication system, a microwave communication system, a point-to-point communication system, a uni-directional communication system, a bi-directional communication system, a one to many communication system, a fiber-optic communication system, a WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) communication system, and a DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) communication system. 